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Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm

Hawaiian Historical Society

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Hawaiian Historical Society

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Organized in January 1892, HHS preserves historical materials in its library and publishes scholarly research in the peer-reviewed Hawaiian Journal of History.

10/31/2026

What a great way to end by celebrating our newest digitization project, The Oʻahu Cemetery Project.

In 1986, Nanette Napoleon surveyed gravesites at 46 cemeteries across Oʻahu to document the information.

In 2023, the Hawaiian Historical Society partnered with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Papakilo Database, to digitize and transcribe into a searchable format Napoleon’s publication, expanding access to this information globally.

The Oʻahu Cemetery Project collection comprises nearly 9,000 records of individual gravesites along with accompanying information inscribed on the grave markers; which is now freely available on the Papakilo Database, papakilodatabase.com

To read more about our project check out our article in Ka Wai Ola’s https://kawaiola.news/oha/the-oahu-cemetery-project-preserved-on-papakilo/

Help us be unstoppable and continue our digitization efforts. Please consider donating or becoming a member.
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hhsgiving2026/

10/22/2026

In celebration of , we are launching our 2026 Annual Giving Campaign, Every page holds a legacy...protect it. This year we are focusing our efforts on raising funds to continue the preservation of the library & archives collections.

Inside the Hawaiian Historical Society, history isn't just stored-it breathes.

When you read the pages of Alexander Liholiho's (Kamehameha IV) diary on his diplomatic voyage, account reports from Queen Liliʻuokalani’s Educational Society, or Queen Emma’s fundraiser for Hansen’s disease patients, it’s not just paper. You are reading first hand accounts of our Ali'i experiencing the world around them and building a stronger lāhui (community). You have the ability to touch the pages they touched and connect over similar values–to leave the world a better place.

Our archives hold irreplaceable information and encourage you to turn this into knowledge.

But time is a quiet adversary. Without care, a page lost is a legacy forgotten.

Join us to ensure the ink won’t fade.

Visit https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hhsgiving2026/ to donate, become a member, shop, support our islands, our heritage, our people.

Help us raise $30,000. It's a big ask, but even a $1 can save a page. Mahalo!

10/16/2026

Hauʻoli Lā Hānau Princess Kaʻiulani!

On this day in 1875: Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani is born. She was the daughter of A.S. Cleghorn and Princess Miriam Likelike.

Image: Studio Portrait of Princess Kaʻiulani, photographer and date unknown, Hawaiian Historical Society, Call No. 5705.

Want to learn more? There’s an HJH for that, read,
“Unlucky Star - Princess Ka’iulani,” by Marilyn Stassen-McLaughlin. Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 33 (1999).

10/14/2026

Last week we had the honor of joining and to talk story with 6 other professionals about what a career in preservation looks like. Mahalo to all the students that came out and asked questions! What a great way to celebrate

You can help us continue our outreach efforts, including our robust internship program simply by shopping at Target 🎯. We are featured in the Target Circle Community giving program. That means from October 1 to December 31 every time you shop at Target, you earn votes that turn into real 💰MONEY for us—at absolutely ZERO cost to you.

1️⃣ Make sure you are a Target Circle member. It’s free and you can save on all your purchases. Visit https://www.target.com/l/target-circle/ or download the app.
2️⃣Go shopping for your everyday essentials, all qualified purchases will turn into votes.
3️⃣Open your target App or log in online, “My Target”
4️⃣ Tap “Target Circle”
5️⃣Select “Vote for nonprofits” and cast your available votes for Hawaiian Historical Society

Mahalo for voting and helping us mentor the next generation!

10/07/2026

HHS will be closed from 12pm, Wednesday, October 7, 2026 - Thursday, October 8, 2026. We will re-open on Friday, October 9, 2026. Mahalo!

Wednesday, we will be speaking with other professionals in the preservation field at UH Mānoa. Come talk with us and learn more about what we do! From 2-3:30pm at Campus Center, Room 308. There'll be snacks!

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation has partnered with the Mānoa Career Center to give students a firsthand look at some of the many paths a career in historic preservation can take.

This event is open to UH Mānoa undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni, as well as high school, community college, and other local college students exploring their options.

10/02/2026

On this day in 2024: Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi proclaims the Rainbow Shower (Cassia x nealiae "Wilhelmina Tenney") the Official Pride Tree of Honolulu.

Not only is October Archives Month, it is also Honolulu LGBTQ+ Pride Month. This month we celebrate all the historical narratives that support all of our communities.

10/01/2026

What a way to kick off We are excited to announce Hawaiian Historical Society is a featured nonprofit in the 🎯Target Circle Community Giving Program this quarter! That means from October 1 to December 31 every time you shop at Target, you earn votes that turn into real 💰MONEY for us--at absolutely ZERO cost to you.

1️⃣ Make sure you are a Target Circle member. It's free and you can save on all your purchases. purchases will turn into votes.
3️⃣Open your target App or log in online
4️⃣ Tap Target Circle
5️⃣Select "Vote for nonprofits" and cast your available votes for Hawaiian Historical Society

Voting takes 30 seconds or less. Votes will determine how much funding we will be awarded. Join us in helping to keep our history alive with a tap of your finger! Please share and encourage others to vote.

Don't live in Hawaiʻi? No worries, we gotchu. On the Target website or app, you can change your zip-code and store of choice in the top lefthand corner. Enter the zip code: 96814 and select a Target near Honolulu, HI before going to cast votes.

Support our efforts to:
💻Digitize & Preserve-Protect fragile historical documents, photographs, journals...you name it we're caring for it!
🧾Expand Access-Keep our doors open and our lights on for our communities to access historical materials and learn
👶Fuel Literacy-Funds our community outreach programs

Mahalo to Target for the opportunity to raise funds and awareness of Hawaiian Historical Society.

10/01/2026

Celebrating Hawaiian History Month, we feature Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (October 29, 1815 – September 5, 1876). Kamakau was a Hawaiian historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource. He wrote over 300 articles for nūpepa ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi like Ka Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa and Ke Au ʻOkoʻa. He wrote with incredible detail about ancient cultural practices, complex genealogies, and the political rise of the Kamehameha dynasty. His contemporary, John Papa ʻĪʻī, famously marvelled at Kamakau's accuracy, remarking that he wrote about historic events "as though he had been an eyewitness."

As Hawaiian History Month comes to a close, we celebrated a few significant, historical figures, but we are grateful to all of those that help to build a stronger lāhui.

Want to learn more? We got an HJH for that! Read, "Historical Disconnect: Posthumous Publication of Puzzle Pieces by S. M. Kamakau," By M. Puakea Nogelmeier, Hawaiian Journal of History, volume 59, 2025. Purchase your newest copy of the Hawaiian Journal of History from us or become a member today! All members receive a complimentary copy of this Journal, while supplies last.

Image 1: Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau, Hawaiian Historical Society.

09/24/2026

Celebrating Hawaiian History Month, we feature Joseph Mokuohai Poepoe (1852-1913). Fluent in English and well versed in French, Latin, and Hebrew, Poepoe was an editor, storey-teller, and translator that would also write under the pen name Ho‘oulumāhiehie. He was the editor for many nā nūpepa ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, such as Ke Aloha Aina, and Ka Hoku o ke Kai.

Poepoe's short biography was published in Aloha Aina, 10/26/1912, p. 1.

Want to learn more? There's an HJH for that! Read, "Newspapers of Hawai'i 1834 to 1903: From He Liona to the Pacific Cable," By Helen Geracimos Chapin, Hawaiian Journal of History, volume 18, 1984, pp. 47-86.

Image 1: Joseph Mokuohai Poepoe, photographer unknown, ca. 1913, Wikimedia Commons.

Image 2: Ka Hoku o ke Kai, Hawaiian Historical Society.

09/20/2026

October is Honolulu LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Come celebrate with HHS, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, and Lei Pua ʻAla on Saturday, October 24, 2026 10:30am to 12:30pm. Limited seating, registration is highly encouraged https://bit.ly/LeiPuaAlaBookTalk2026 Walk-ins welcomed permitted space.

This event is complimentary to our communities and everyone is welcome.

Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and DeSoto Brown, will talk story about the Lei Pua ʻAla project and Dean and Joe’s article, Histories of Gender and Sexual Diversity in Hawaiʻi, published in the newest volume (59) of The Hawaiian Journal of History.

After the talk session, we invite you to ask our panel questions as well as walk through the Reading Room Library & Archives to see on display rare, archival material from Hawaiian Historical Society and Hawaiian Mission Houses that supports historical narratives and the vision of Lei Pua ʻAla.

Address

560 Kawaiahao Street
Honolulu, HI
96813

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm

Website

http://www.hawaiianhistory.org/

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