About Us

Learn about the Honokaʻa Heritage Center

The Honokaʻa Heritage Center is located in the historic Botelho Building. This building was constructed in 1927 by Judge Manuel Botelho. Judge Botelho was born in the Azores, Portugal and came to Hawaiʻi in 1880 at the age of two. He attended college in Illinois and became an attorney and later District Magistrate. From 1921 to 1934 he was also the Postmaster for Honokaʻa.

The Botelho Building was originally built as a Ford dealership and garage. Over the years the building has housed a beauty salon, a dance hall, a post office and the local draft board. During World War II it was a USO for the military.

Research at the Honokaʻa Heritage Center

The Honokaʻa Heritage Center welcomes researchers interested in the history of Honokaʻa, Hāmākua, and North Hawaiʻi. Our collections continue to grow and include photographs, documents, maps, oral histories, family collections, and other materials related to the region’s people and communities.

Research topics for which we may be able to provide access or assistance include:

Historic buildings and businesses in Honokaʻa
Hāmākua plantations and plantation communities
The W. H. Rickard Collection
Camp Tarawa and military history
Historic maps of Hāmākua
Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, and other ethnic communities of Hāmākua
Oral histories related to Hāmākua and North Hawaiʻi
Historic photographs and community events
Selected family collections donated to the Heritage Center
Various archival records, manuscripts, and research files

What We Do Not Have

The Heritage Center does not maintain employment records for Hāmākua plantations, surrounding ranches, or most private employers. We are also unable to conduct extensive genealogy research unless the family in question has donated materials to our collection.

For researchers seeking plantation employment records, we recommend contacting the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA) Collection at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Information about those records can be found here:

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~speccoll/m_plantations.html

Research Assistance

We are happy to assist researchers and can often suggest sources both within and outside our collection. Because many materials are not on public display and may require advance retrieval, we request at least two weeks’ notice for research visits and research assistance whenever possible.

Please note that while we strive to help researchers access available materials, we cannot guarantee that records on a specific person, family, property, or topic will be found.

To inquire about research assistance, please contact the Honokaʻa Heritage Center with details about your project and research interests.