North of Pu`umahie is the beautiful bay of Kahana with its wide, crescent-shaped beach. The bay opens to the ocean through a wide passage in the reef, for the broad and deep valley of Kahana has a stream that is almost a small river by the time it reaches the bay. The main stream named Kahawainui, or Big Valley, is fed by four streams out of side valleys: Kawa, Pilali, Kalehua, and Koloahulu. Wet taro in lo`i was extensively cultivated here. There were also swampy areas where wet taro was planted in mounds (pu`epu`e). Breadfruit trees and Hawaiian bamboo were found in the interior valley, coconuts on the flatlands to seaward, sweet-potato patches on sandy soil near the bay ; and there were two fishponds, one along the southern shore of the bay, the other behind the beach on the north side. Both fishponds were flanked by taro terraces. The broad flat valley bottom and adjacent hillsides of this verdant ahupua`a were all in lo`i. Throughout this area in recent years [1940] sugar cane was grown commercially where once were the lo`i of wet taro with banks planted to bananas, wauke, and ti. In the interior there must formerly have been a large amount of wauke and, in wet gulches, olona. Yams undoubtedly grew on the slopes above cultivated areas. Kahana Bay is a notable fishing locality, famous for runs of akule and kala.(1)
	On O`ahu, Kahana is the only undeveloped ahupua`a and therefore a great baseline for making comparisons about water quality, and in terms of judging how other ahupua`a fare in the urban and semi-urban assault. Kahana (citing from Sunny Greer's Ahupua`a O Kahana: The Struggle Continues 1917 - 1997) was originally held under the High Chiefess Keohokalole, the mother of Kalakaua and Lili`uokalani. Kahana ahupua`a has three fishponds, one of which, Huilua, is registered on the National Registry of Historic Places. Four known fishing shrines exist, as well as two identified heiau and some interesting petroglyphs. Kahana is also the source of much of the water in the Waiahole Ditch Contested Case. After the arrival of the missionaries in 1820 the Kahana Mormon Church became one of the first religious settlements on O`ahu. This branch became something of a "rebel" ward, as Hawaiian members struggled with the church hierarchy over the issue (and use, I would imagine) of `awa, which was classified as an addictive substance and prohibited by the church. With the approach of World War II Kahana was used as a military training ground. The old jeep trails still exist, and we walk down one of those bumpy roads on our way to swim in the reservoir. Citing eminent domain, the State condemned Kahana in 1966 to stop development of the area by Mary Foster (whose brother was an owner of the Waiahole Irrigation Co.), who owned much of the area. Some stories describe Foster's acquisition of property as a land grab after Mormon families in the area went into debt to finance a trip to Utah for a great gathering of Mormons in the 1940s. Those families put up their properties as collateral for passage to Utah and were unable to repay loans in a timely way. Foster foreclosed and became owner of numerous small lots. The original families that lived there were kuleana landowners. Over the years the area has remained undeveloped. But the State is presently casting its eye toward its own development of tourist stops on the Windward side (especially Kahana) because of the great white sand beaches and potential for "revenue enhancement." Sometimes it seems they would desire that there were no more long-term residential tenants in what is now "Kahana Valley State Park." Many of the children of those original tenants still live in Kahana, although the possibility of eviction is ever present. After all, the children didn't sign the leases -- their parents did.(2)

PAGE INFORMATION SOURCES: