Waiakea Mission Station-Hilo Station
| Haili Church | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 211 Haili Street Hilo, Hawaiʻi |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | United Church of Christ |
| Website | www |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Greek Revival |
| Years built | 1854-1859 (current building) |
| Administration | |
| Division | Hawaii Conference |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Brian Welsh |
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Waiakea Mission Station-Hilo Station
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| Coordinates | 19°43′20″N 155°5′20″W / 19.72222°N 155.08889°WCoordinates: 19°43′20″N 155°5′20″W / 19.72222°N 155.08889°W |
| Built | 1824 |
| NRHP reference # | 02000387 |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 2002 |
The Waiākea Mission Station was the first Christian mission on the eastern side of the Island of Hawaiʻi. Also known as the Hilo Station, the latest structure is now called Haili Church.
The American missionaries Asa Thurston, Artemis Bishop, Joseph Goodrich and English missionary William Ellis toured the island in 1823 and planned to establish a network of several posts. The first two were Mokuaikaua Church in the Kona District (western coast), and this one on the east side. On May 19, 1824, a simple grass hut was dedicated as the first church of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions with Joseph Goodrich as preacher and Samuel Ruggles as teacher. The Hawaiian village at the time was called Waiākea, in the district called Hilo. The name of the village came from wai ākea in the Hawaiian language meaning "broad waters", and was located in what is now the southeast part of the city of Hilo.
In December 1824, Goodrich met Chiefess Kapiʻolani at the Kīlauea volcano, for a dramatic demonstration that the new faith was acceptable. In June 1825 the HMS Blonde arrived, and Goodrich guided a party to the summit of Mauna Kea.
In 1825 a larger grass structure was built on present-day Kalakaua Park. Goodrich brought some coffee trees here some time after 1825, and Samuel Ruggles brought some to the other side of the island (the first Kona coffee) in 1828 when he was transferred to the Kealakekua Church.David Belden Lyman and his wife, Sarah Joiner Lyman arrived in 1832 to established and teach at a new boarding school. Over the next few years, the boarding school, a larger thatched church, and other buildings were built in that area, which now is the town square surrounded by civic buildings such as the historic District Courthouse and Police Station and Hilo Federal Building. In 1835, Rev. Titus Coan and his wife Fidelia arrived. He learned the Hawaiian language, so he could travel through the districts of Puna and Kaʻū to the south, gathering converts. His writings describe avoiding the perils of the dense tropical rainforests, and observations of the Kīlauea volcano.
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Wikipedia