Mokuaikaua Church Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
National Register of Historic Places Data
Mokuaikaua Church has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information, which has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form. Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- National Register ID
- 78001015
- Date Listed
- October 3, 1978
- Name
- Mokuaikaua Church
- Address
- Off HI 11
- City/Town
- Kailua-Kona
- County
- Hawaii
- State
- Hawaii
- Category
- building
- Level of Sig.
- local
- Years of Sig.
- 1836; 1837
- Areas of Sig.
- ARCHITECTURE; RELIGION
Description
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
Mokuaikaua Church is a large stone church centered in a small level lot near the center of Kailua. Its high steeple stands out conspicuously and has become a landmark from both land and sea during its 135 years of service. Its spire is shingled and there are bartizans at the top of the rectangular base. The central core of the steeple is polygonal with alternating sections of wide and narrow clapboard. The wider sections are articulated with louvered arches. The 48 by 120 feet lava rock and coral mortared church is capped with a gable roof. Construction beams are made from ohia wood. Pieces of the wooden structure were joined with ohia pins.- The spanning beams are fifty feet long and are made from ohia timbers. Corner stones were set in place 20 to 30 feet above the ground. There are numerous entrances, two of which are opposite the altar end. These doorways are decorated with applied segmental pediments made out of cement. The motif is also carried out in the central window above the doorways. Large quoins of cut stone are a pleasing counterpoint to the rounded forms of the walls, Mokuaikaua Church is the first and one of the largest stone churches in Hawaii, outstanding for its simple, well-proportioned mass and construction. The interior open timber structure with high galleries is a fine architectural and engineering design. The architectural interest is further enhanced by the church's historical significance which makes this site a candidate for national register rating.
Statement of Significance
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
Known as the "First Christian Church of Hawaii," Mokuaikaua Church in Kailua, Kona is a landmark manifestation of -the influence and dedication of New England's pioneer missionaries in the Islands. Reverend Asa Thurston and his wife, Lucy, arrived in Kailua, Kona on April 4, 1820. They were among six other couples sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to convert the local Polynesians to Christianity. The Thurstons remained in Kailua while their fellow missionaries went to establish stations on other Hawaiian islands. Preaching and teaching was limited only to the King, Kamehameha II, certain nobles, and those deemed worthy by royal choice. After about seven months the King and his party moved to Honolulu. Loneliness, insufficient protection, and the removal of Kamehameha's court apparently convinced Reverend Thurston and his wife that they should take up a new station and late in 1820 they moved to Honolulu. Upon the return of the Thurstons to Kailua in October 1823, they found that the Hawaiians had maintained a vigorous interest in Christianity and under the direction of Kuakini, the governor of Hawaii, had erected a wooden church 60 feet long by 30 feet wide. The building was surrounded by the ruins of a heiau, Hawaiian temple, and stones from it were used for the foundation of the church. Reverend Thurston dedicated the house of worship on December 10, 1823. Its name became Mokuaikaua Church, probably relating to the region in which [1]ohia timbers were cut for the building. It served a congregation numbering between 600 and 1,000 persons, and education as well as the holding of regular religious services became part of its functions. It soon was found that the church was incapable of holding the growing following of the missionaries. The Kona District had by the mid- 1820's, an estimated population of 20,000 and congregations became so large that a considerable number had to be excluded from services.
