Moloka'i Light Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, National Park Service

Germano, Vida; Gjesfjeld, Cortney

The Moloka`i Light Station is located in Kalaupapa National Historical Park along the northern coast of the Hawaiian island of Moloka`i. The park consists of a low peninsula and three narrow valleys bordered by vertical cliffs (pali), rising steeply to 1,600-3,300 feet. The Moloka`i Light Station is situated at Kahiu Point, approximately one-half mile from the tip of this isolated peninsula. The white-painted lighthouse stands 138 feet above the ground (a 112-foot tower on a base), visible from sea and air for many miles. The light station offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean along the steep, curving coast of the northeastern section of the peninsula, as well as views of the Kalaupapa shield volcano and the pali to the south. The landscape is adjacent to the Kalaupapa Airfield and is connected by roads to the Kalaupapa and Kalawao settlements that were developed during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries for Hansen’s disease patients. Located approximately two and a half miles northeast of Kalaupapa, the keepers and their families who lived at the Moloka`i Light Station were officially prohibited from communicating with patients due to health risks; however, they were as connected as any neighbors in an isolated environment and frequently interacted with one another. The Moloka`i Light Station is significant at a state level for its association with maritime history, transportation, commerce, and social history. The period of significance starts in 1908 with construction of the lighthouse and ends in 1955 when the final addition was made to the wash house on site. It is also significant as an example of maritime architecture and changes to light station design during the twentieth century, reflecting advances in technology and the various agencies that were responsible for the site’s maintenance. The operation of the light station demonstrates the growing significance of the federal government in Hawaiian affairs during this period. Although the Board of Health and Bureau of Lighthouses recommended that the light station remain separate from the settlement at Kalaupapa, the beacon of light became an important symbol to the community of patient-residents. The lives of keepers and residents often crossed, as they shared the landing at Kalaupapa Settlement and the paths to the pali. The light station landscape also contains historic and pre-contact archeological features that may reveal significant evidence in association with light station development or for an entirely different area of significance. Evaluating these archeological sites is beyond the scope of this report, yet it is important to understanding the extent of the Moloka`i Light Station importance within the period of significance. The rich history that has defined and shaped the site are displayed through a number of structures associated with its development, including the lighthouse, ancillary buildings, residential buildings, and circulation features like roads and sidewalks. Other contributing landscape features include the Ironwood wind rows and allée along the entrance drive. The materials, design, and workmanship of these structures demonstrate the character of the light station as it appeared during the period of significance. Today, the Moloka`i Light Station continues to convey the historic character of the site associated with its development as a light station between 1908 and 1955. It embodies distinctive elements of light station design and technology from early- and mid-twentieth century America and reflects features common to other light stations across the country, while also remaining associated with the unique isolation and history of the Kalaupapa Peninsula. The light station continues to operate and orient navigators through the Pacific Ocean waters off of Moloka’i.

Moloka'i Light Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, National Park Service

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