Līhuʻe, Hawaii

History

In ancient times, Līhue was a small village. Līhue means "cold chill" in the Hawaiian language. Līhue is in the ancient district of Puna, the southeastern coast of the island, and the land division (ahupuaa) of Kalapaki. Royal Governor Kaikioewa officially made it his governing seat in 1837, moving it from Waimea; he named the town after land he owned on Oahu by the same name.

With the emergence of the sugar industry in the 1800s, Līhue became the central city of the island with the construction of a large sugar mill. Early investors were Henry A. Peirce, Charles Reed Bishop and William Little Lee. The plantation struggled until William Harrison Rice built the first irrigation system in 1856.

Subsequent plantation owner Paul Isenberg helped German people emigrate to Līhue starting in 1881, with the first Lutheran church in Hawaii founded in 1883. Services were held in German well into the 1960s. By the 1930s, George Norton Wilcox became one of the largest sugarcane plantation owners, buying Grove Farm from Hermann A. Widemann. The Wilcox family home, Kilohana, has been converted into a restaurant and gift shop. The surrounding plantation now grows crops and livestock. A narrow-gauge tourist railroad with vintage diesel locomotives from Whitworth and General Electric offers tours of the plantation; horse-drawn carriage tours are offered as well. The grounds are also the site of luaus, many of which are offshore excursions booked through NCL America. Līhue also houses the Kauai Museum, which details the history of Kauai.

Geography and climate

Līhue is on the eastern side of the island of Kauai, bordered by Hanamaulu to the north and Puhi to the west. Its shorefront on the Kauai Channel of the Pacific Ocean extends from Hanamaulu Bay in the north to the larger Nawiliwili Bay to the south. Hawaii Route 50 leads west from Līhue 12 mi to Kalaheo and beyond to the western side of the island, while Hawaii Route 56 leads north 7 mi to Kapaa and onwards to the northern side of the island.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Līhue CDP has an area of 19.3 sqmi, of which 17.3 km2 is land and 2.0 km2, or 10.42%, is water.

Līhue has a tropical wet and dry climate zone (Köppen classification As) with a relatively dry summer season. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 71.6 F in February to 79.7 F in August. On average, there are 7.7 nights annually with a low below 60 F, and readings of 90 F or higher are quite rare, occurring on average once every eight years. Temperature records range from 46 F on January 14, 1930 up to only 91 F as recently as September 4–8, 2019. The record cool daily maximum is 67 F as recently as December 19, 1981, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 81 F as recently as September 7–9, 2019.

Normal annual rainfall is 37.05 in spread over an average 195 days, but observed annual rainfall has ranged from 16.40 to in 1983 and 1982, respectively. The wettest month on record is March 2006 with 36.13 in, while the most rain to occur in a single calendar day is 15.81 in on May 13, 1940. The record driest month is February 1983 with trace amounts.

|Jan record high F = 87 |Feb record high F = 89 |Mar record high F = 88 |Apr record high F = 88 |May record high F = 89 |Jun record high F = 89 |Jul record high F = 91 |Aug record high F = 91 |Sep record high F = 91 |Oct record high F = 91 |Nov record high F = 89 |Dec record high F = 89 |year record high F = 91 |Jan avg record high F = 82.6 |Feb avg record high F = 81.9 |Mar avg record high F = 81.9 |Apr avg record high F = 82.4 |May avg record high F = 84.2 |Jun avg record high F = 84.7 |Jul avg record high F = 86.3 |Aug avg record high F = 87.0 |Sep avg record high F = 87.2 |Oct avg record high F = 86.5 |Nov avg record high F = 84.1 |Dec avg record high F = 82.3 |year avg record high F = 88.2 |Jan avg record low F = 58.2 |Feb avg record low F = 58.5 |Mar avg record low F = 59.6 |Apr avg record low F = 62.7 |May avg record low F = 64.4 |Jun avg record low F = 69.1 |Jul avg record low F = 70.4 |Aug avg record low F = 71.0 |Sep avg record low F = 69.8 |Oct avg record low F = 67.1 |Nov avg record low F = 64.6 |Dec avg record low F = 61.2 |year avg record low F = 56.4 |Jan record low F = 46 |Feb record low F = 47 |Mar record low F = 47 |Apr record low F = 51 |May record low F = 54 |Jun record low F = 57 |Jul record low F = 59 |Aug record low F = 58 |Sep record low F = 59 |Oct record low F = 54 |Nov record low F = 51 |Dec record low F = 50 |year record low F = 46 | access-date = September 11, 2021}} | access-date = September 11, 2021}} | access-date = September 11, 2021}}

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,694 people, 2,178 households, and 1,420 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 898.3 PD/sqmi. There were 2,399 housing units at an average density of 379.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 22.8% White, 49.2% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 6.4% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 20.5% from two or more races. 6.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,178 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,906, and the median income for a family was $56,875 in 2000. Males had a median income of $38,713 versus $28,032 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,619. 4.6% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.4% of those under the age of 18 and 7.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Līhue is served by Lihue Airport, in the eastern part of the community. Kauai's main seaport is at Nāwiliwili Bay, directly southeast of town. Līhue is also served by The Kauai Bus, a public bus system serving the entire island.

Facilities

The town is home to the county administration building; Kauai's largest shopping center, Kukui Grove Center, which houses the island's only big department store and several big-box stores. There are also several car dealerships and restaurants.

Education

Līhue is home to Kauaʻi Community College, part of the University of Hawaiʻi system.

Līhue is also served by the Hawaii Department of Education. Two Kindergarten-fifth grade elementary schools, Wilcox Elementary School in Līhue and Kaumualii Elementary School in downtown Hanamaulu serve the area. All of the area is zoned to Kamakahelei Middle School and Kauai High School.

Island School, a private pre-kindergarten to 12 school, is also located in Līhue.

The Hawaii State Public Library System operates the Lihue Public Library.

Notable people

• Bethany Hamilton (b. 1990) surfer
• Eric Shinseki, (b. 1942) retired United States Army general who served as 34th chief of staff of the Army and the seventh U.S. secretary of veterans affairs.
• Robert Yasuda (b. 1940) American abstract painter
• Kirby Yates (b. 1987) Major League Baseball pitcher
• Tyler Yates (b. 1977) former Major League Baseball pitcher

Notes

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. (April 2020}}{{cbignore). "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Līhu{{okina}}e CDP, Hawaii". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. {{Hawaiian Dictionaries. Līhu{{okinae
4. {{Hawaiian Dictionaries. Līhu{{okinae
5. {{Hawaiian Dictionaries. Līhu{{okinae. HASH974f8f322d5f24f0422bab
6. Daniel Harrington. "Līhuʻe". Mutual Publishing.
7. (2004). "Lihue Plantation Company History (Kauai)". [[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] Library.
8. "Our History & Heritage". Lihue Lutheran Church.
9. "History". Grove Farm web site.
10. "Kauaʻi Museum". official web site.
11. (2006). "World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated". Meteorol. Z..
12. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
13. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. link. (2011-11-19." ''[[U.S. Census Bureau]]''. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.)
15. "Lihue Public Library". [[Hawaii State Public Library System]].
16. Sundaram Tagore Gallery. [https://issuu.com/sundaramtagoregallery/docs/duo ''DUO: Judith Murray: and Robert Yasuda''], New York/Singapore: Sundaram Tagore, 2014.