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Līhuʻe, Hawaii

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Līhuʻe, Hawaii

Līhuʻe (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liːˈhuʔe]) is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Līhuʻe is the second-largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi, following Kapaʻa. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 6,455, up from 5,694 at the 2000 census.

In ancient times, Līhuʻe was a small village. Līhuʻe means "cold chill" in the Hawaiian language. Līhuʻe is in the ancient district of Puna, the southeastern coast of the island, and the land division (ahupuaʻa) of Kalapaki. Royal Governor Kaikioʻewa 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, Līhuʻe 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 Līhuʻe 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. Līhuʻe also houses the Kauai Museum, which details the history of Kauai.

Līhuʻe 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 Līhuʻe 12 miles (19 km) to Kalaheo and beyond to the western side of the island, while Hawaii Route 56 leads north 7 miles (11 km) to Kapaa and onwards to the northern side of the island.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Līhuʻe CDP has an area of 50 square kilometres (19.3 sq mi), of which 6.7 square miles (17.3 km2) is land and 0.77 square miles (2.0 km2), or 10.42%, is water.

Līhuʻe 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 (22.0 °C) in February to 79.7 °F (26.5 °C) in August. On average, there are 7.7 nights annually with a low below 60 °F (16 °C), and readings of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher are quite rare, occurring on average once every eight years. Temperature records range from 46 °F (8 °C) on January 14, 1930 up to only 91 °F (33 °C) as recently as September 4–8, 2019. The record cool daily maximum is 67 °F (19 °C) as recently as December 19, 1981, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 81 °F (27 °C) as recently as September 7–9, 2019.

Normal annual rainfall is 37.05 inches (941 mm) spread over an average 195 days, but observed annual rainfall has ranged from 16.40 to 74.40 inches (417 to 1,890 mm) in 1983 and 1982, respectively. The wettest month on record is March 2006 with 36.13 inches (918 mm), while the most rain to occur in a single calendar day is 15.81 inches (402 mm) on May 13, 1940. The record driest month is February 1983 with trace amounts.

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