Pa'auilo Final Enviromental Assessment

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PA`AUILO LANDS FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Ms. Gomes recalled that her grandmother used to live where the Kamehameha Schools is now located in Pa`auilo; she said there is a gulch there where they used to go down and wash their clothes. There were also school cottages where the Pa`auilo School is now located. When Ms. Gomes was a child, Pa`auilo town had two theaters (one old and one new), the Arita Hotel, two Japanese churches, five stores (one with a restaurant), one barber, one jewelry store, and the Catholic Church was newly built. There was a school up mauka in Kapahu that Ms. Gomes mother used to walk to from their property, which was located makai of the present highway. For work, Ms. Gomes used to pick coffee in Kona and macadamia nuts in Kea`au. She also was a teacher's aide and worked in sales. Ms. Gomes opened Sandra's General Store in Kukaiau and ran it from 1985-1994. Before her health began to decline, Ms. Gomes aimed to start a museum for Pa`auilo that would contain memorabilia from the ranchers, store owners, and plantation days. Ranching was a big part of life in Pa`auilo; there was the DeLuz Ranch, the Ramos Ranch and a slaughterhouse owned by DeLuz. There were also a lot of ranch workers. Plantation History: According to the University of Hawai`i's Plantation Archives, the Hamakua Mill Company (HMC) was located in Pa`auilo from 1882-1959. The HMC was founded by Mr. Theophilus H. Davies and Mr. Charles Notley, Sr. The plantation encompassed an area of approximately 6 miles, with one side of the plantation bordered by the ocean and the other side rising to an elevation of approximately 2,000 feet. By 1910, over 4,800 acres were cultivated in sugar and a railroad system was in use for transporting sugar cane. As was typical of plantations along the Hamakua Coast, no irrigation was necessary. During 1910, the HMC boasted over 600 employees (considerable when compared to the 2000 Census population of 571) and had a company store. There was also a school and several churches in Pa`auilo. In 1914, Kukaiau Plantation merged with the HMC. in 1974, the HMC became a part of the Laupahoehoe Sugar Company. The Hawaii Consolidated Railway line ended at Pa`auilo,it did not continue on to Honoka`a due to a shortage of funding. It was a Hilo-based railroad that served the plantation communities during the early 20`, century. Before sugar, Pa`auilo's economy was driven by coffee and cattle. It is clear from the interviews with Ms. Gomes and Ms. Kidani that although they themselves did not work for the sugar plantations, the plantation did have a large influence on the way of life in Pa`auilo. Potential Impacts and Mitigation Measures As no culturally significant resources are activities were found to occur in the project area, no impacts to cultural resources are anticipated. 30