Waipahu
| Waipahu, Hawaii | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
 Location in Honolulu County and the state of Hawaii |
|
| Coordinates: 21°23′33″N 158°0′39″W / 21.39250°N 158.01083°WCoordinates: 21°23′33″N 158°0′39″W / 21.39250°N 158.01083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Hawaii |
| County | Honolulu |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2) |
| • Land | 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 38,216 |
| • Density | 14,000/sq mi (5,300/km2) |
| Time zone | Hawaii-Aleutian (UTC-10) |
| ZIP code | 96797 |
| Area code(s) | 808 |
| FIPS code | 15-79700 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0364878 |
Waipahu is a former sugarcane plantation town and now census-designated place (CDP) located in the ʻEwa District on the island of Oʻahu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP population was 38,216. The U.S. postal code for Waipahu is 96797.
Waipahu is the name of an artesian spring. In Hawaiian, Waipahu is derived from wai, meaning water, and pahū, meaning "burst or explode"; combined, Waipahu means "water forced up (as out of a spring)". The early Native Hawaiians took pleasure in the cool and clear water gushing from the ground and named this spring Waipahu. Before the Western civilization set foot in Hawaii, the Hawaiians considered Waipahu to be the capital of Oahu. Royalty in the Kingdom of Hawaii would often gather and enjoy the fresh water from the spring Waipahu.
In 1897, Oahu Sugar Company was incorporated, and its board of directors located the sugar mill in Waipahu. It had 943 field workers. There were 44 Hawaiians, including 10 minors; 57 Portuguese; 443 Japanese, 408 of them contract laborers; and 399 Chinese, 374 of whom were contract laborers. The company's managers from 1897 to 1940 were August Ahrens (1897–1904), E.K. Bull (1904–1919), J.B. Thomson (1919–1923), E.W. Greene (1923–1937), and Hans L'Orange (1937–1956).
In the early days of the plantation, each worker was assigned a number inscribed on a metal disc about the size of a silver dollar. The numbers 1 through 899 identified Japanese alien; 900 through 1400 were Japanese who were American citizens or Hawaii-born. The 2000 and 2100 series were Portuguese laborers, 2200 Spanish, 2300 Hawaiian, 2400 Puerto Rican, 3000 Chinese or Korean, 4000 and 5000 Filipino aliens, and Filipino Americans. The company imported laborers from many different countries including the Philippines, Japan, China, Portugal, and Norway. Very few laborers working for the Oahu Sugar Co. were Hawaiian. The majority of the company's first laborers were either Japanese or Chinese. Each ethnic group was broken up into different camps. This division was said to have been the result of different cultures and language barriers.
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