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Kauai History
Approximately 7 million years ago the Okokele volcano formed beneath the sea and created Kauai. The volcano then split into two peaks called Mt. Waialeale and Kawaikini. In between these two peaks formed a lower area known today as the Alakai swamp, which is the highest elevated swamp in the world. Scientist believe that Kauai started on a hot spot in the ocean floor where the Big Island of Hawaii is today. After the island formed the plates of the pacific shifted Kauai from its original location to the northwest and in the past 7 million years Kauai has moved almost 400 miles from its original position.
There is evidence of the first settlement of Kauai was around 750 A.D. The Hawaiian people were separate from the rest of the world and Kauai has been referred to as a separate Kingdom. In fact Kauai was the only island that King Kamehameha was unable to conquer in his quest to control all the Hawaiian islands. Kauai did finally unite with the rest of the Hawaiian kingdom after Kauai's King Kaumualii peacefully joined with King Kamehameha.
In 1778, Captain James Cook discovered the islands and came ashore at Waimea. This was the first Europeans to set foot on the island in history and this discovery changed the course of history for the islands.
In the early 1800's Hawaii became a stop over for ships crossing the pacific, including trading and whaling vessels who would stop on Kauai for food, water and other supplies. Missionaries heard of Hawaii and headed to the islands to bring the word of God to the islanders, which not only changed the islands religion, but changed the make up of the people living here.
The mid 1800's saw a new product from Kauai, sugar cane. The cane farmers imported people from all over the world to work in the cane fields. Chinese, Philippinos, Japanese, Germans and many other people were brought to Kauai to work in the fields.
Kauai Today
Today the economy is mainly based on tourism, agriculture and construction. The sugar cane fields are being phased out and the island has only one operating sugar mill. Coffee and guava are the newer crops that are doing quite well in Kauai's rich soils. Bananas, coconuts also grow well in most areas of the island.
A bustling tourism economy creates a low unemployment rate on the island. The busiest times on Kauai are summer months, spring break and around Christmas. Even in the busiest times Kauai is still an island that never seems crowded and beaches are sparsely populated.
Kauai has the smallest population of all the main islands. Approximately 62,000 resident reside on Kauai. The hub of the island is Lihue. The airport is located in Lihue along with all the county and state offices. Lihue is centrally located and about equal distance from either end of the island.
Lihue is also the center of most of our shopping. Over the past 10 years, Kauai has been discovered by the many big retail chain stores. We have a Walmart, a Kmart, a Home Depot, Macy's and also our original chain store, Sears. There is a Safeway on the island and some smaller food stores. We also have a few Ace Hardware stores. Costco has been the most recent addition!
Kauai Real Estate has a great trck record in holding it's values over time. Kauai Real Estate is a good investment.
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