The Kona Historical Society in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii maintains two historic sites, including a wonderful research archive. The Kona Historical Society also runs public history programs with lectures, living history programs, and even off-road tours.
Tour fees help to support the Kona Historical Society’s educational programs. If youbecome a member of the Kona Historical Society (there are now more than 1,000), you will get invitations to special events. You will also receive their informative newsletter.
The Kona Historical Society Museum (open 9-3, Monday-Friday; 808-323-3222) is located in the old Greenwell Store in Kealakekua at 81-6551 Māmalahoa Highway (Highway 11), about one mile to the south of Kealakekua Town.
Also see: The Top Ten Coffees in the World
The stone building was constructed by Henry N. Greenwell in 1875. The homestead was originally established in 1850 and eventually grew to include a store, post office, sheep station and cattle ranch.
The Kona Historical Society Museum now diplays a wonderful array of historical memorablia related to Kona Coffee, cattle ranching, and life on the coffee plantations as well as Hawaiian cultural artifacts.
History lovers will also enjoy the Kona Coffee Living History Farm which is located on Mamalahoa Highway in the town of Captain Cook south of Kailua-Kona. This site, which is now a macadamia nut farm as well as a coffee farm, was homesteaded in 1900.
Now restored and enshrined as a museum, the Kona Coffee Living History Farm provides insight into the lives of Kona’s early coffee-growing pioneers.
Particularly engaging at the Museum are the interpretive guides in their period costumes. This really helps visitors get a sense of what it was like in the early days of Kona coffee farming and is an educational history lesson for children.
The Kona Coffee Living History Farm gives hands-on tours of their coffee mill and other farm areas.
Gourmet Kona Coffee is among the very best gourmet coffees in the world. Enjoying these historical programs adds to the appreciation of this special region and the wonderful Kona coffee the farmers grow there.