The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, was established in 1920 by the

Hawaiian Mission Children's Society Hawaiian Mission Children's Society (acronym, HMCS; sometimes abbreviated as Mission Children's Society; common name, Cousins' Society; originally, Social Missionary Society; est. 1852) is an American historical and memorial society of descendants ...

, a private, non-profit organization and genealogical society, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

in Hawaii. In 1962, the Mission Houses, together with Kawaiahao Church, both built by those early missionaries, were jointly designated a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

(NHL). In 1966 all the NHLs were included in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits documents, artifacts, and other records of Hawaii's "missionary" period from about 1820 to 1863. It interprets its historic site and collections and makes these collections available for research, educational purposes, and public enjoyment. The archive's collection holds over 3,000 Hawaiian, Western, and Pacific artifacts, and more than 12,000 books, manuscripts, original letters, diaries, journals, illustrations and Hawaiian church records. While the Hawaiian Mission Houses has an ongoing digitization project, they uploaded items relevant to Lahaina's history such as photos, journals, drawings, and letters after the devastating 2023 fire in Lāhainā to aid in the eventual recovery of the historic town.

Houses

The evolution of Mission House architecture illustrates the progressive adaptation of missionaries from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

to the climate, culture, and building materials they encountered in the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly ca ...

Oldest Frame House

The materials to build the Oldest Frame House (Ka Hale Lāau 'the wood house') arrived by ship around

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from

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in 1821. They had already been measured and cut, ready to assemble into a frame house suitable for the climate of New England: with small windows to help keep the heat inside and short eaves so as not to risk cracking under a load of snow. Though principally occupied by the seven members of Daniel Chamberlain's family, it often housed as many as five other missionary families, along with occasional ailing sailors or orphans. The small parlor served as a schoolhouse, and the basement served as the dining hall. The cookhouse was a separate building.

Chamberlain House

The Chamberlain House (Ka Hale Kamalani) was built in 1831 from materials procured locally: coral blocks cut from reefs offshore and lumber salvaged from ships. Designed by the mission's quartermaster,

Levi Chamberlain Levi Chamberlain (Hawaiian name, Mikamalena; 1792–1849) was an American Protestant missionary, teacher of penmanship, and examiner of the native schools in Hawaii, as well as an expert accountant. He served as secular agent of the Sandwich Is ...

, to hold supplies as well as people, it had two stories, an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

, and a cellar. The windows are larger, more numerous, and shuttered against the sun.Sandler, Mehta, and Haines 2008, p. 12 The building now serves as the main exhibition hall for the Museum.

Print House

In 1841, a covered porch and balcony were added to the frame house, and an extra bedroom was built next door out of coral blocks. Both additions show further adaptation to an indoor-outdoor lifestyle appropriate to the climate. The extra coral building later became the mission's Print House (Ka Hale Pai) and now serves as a museum exhibit to show how the missionaries and native Hawaiians worked together to produce the first materials printed in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

Gallery

Image:Honolulu-Mission-Houses-Bingham.JPG, The Oldest Frame House (Ka Hale Lāau 'the wood house'), 1821 Image:Honolulu-Mission-Houses-Chamberlain.JPG, The Chamberlain House (Ka Hale Kamalani), 1831 Image:Honolulu-Mission-Houses-Press.JPG, The Print House (Ka Hale Pai), 1841

References

Bibliography

* Sandler, Rob, Julie Mehta, and Frank S. Haines (2008), ''Architecture in Hawai'i: A Chronological Survey'', new edition. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing. * Simpson, MacKinnon (1998), ''Museum Homes of Honolulu: A Guidebook'', Honolulu: Mission Houses Museum. {{authority control Museums in Honolulu Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums established in 1920 Hawaiian architecture History museums in Hawaii National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii 1920 establishments in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu