​This museum preserves and presents the history and heritage of the sugar industry and the multiethnic plantation life which it engendered.  It provides an enriching experience to those learning about the history of the sugar industry and understanding Hawaii’s plantation heritage and how it helped shape our current island society.

Maui Historical Society is committed to preserving and sharing Maui's History with our local community and those abroad.

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We promote community involvement by collaborating with organizations that share and support our vision.

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​We host cultural events throughout the year including Moonlight Mele a benefit concert series dedicated to preserving Hawaiʻian Music and Lei Day Heritage Festival celebrating the traditional art of lei making.

When the first missionaries arrived in Lahaina in 1823, they stressed to the ali‘i of Hawai‘i the importance of education and literacy for their people, and a seed was planted. By 1831, Lahainaluna Seminary was established, becoming the first secondary school west of the Rockies. Lahainaluna survives today as Lahaina’s public high school. On its campus is Hale Pa‘i, the House of Printing.

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School records tell us that in 1834, an old Ramage Press was shipped from Honolulu and installed on campus in a small thatched-roof hut. Students were taught how to set type, operate the press, create copper engravings and bind books. Textbooks and teaching aids were created and continually improved. The original press printed the first newspaper published west of the Rocky Mountains on February 14, 1834. It was a four-page weekly called “Ka Lama Hawaii.”

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In 1837, construction began on a new building, which would provide a permanent home for the school’s press. Fieldstone was gathered from the surrounding hillsides, timbers were cut from forests on the opposite side of the island and laboriously hauled to the site. Lime for mortar was made down at the shoreline by burning coral that had been culled from offshore reefs. The result was a strong, pitched-roof, two- room house that served the school for more than a century.

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​In the Printing House, seminary scholars composed a classic work of ancient Hawaiian history and traditions entitled “Moolelo Hawaii.” David Malo, one of the seminary’s first students and Native Hawaiian scholars, contributed to the historical part of the book and is listed as its author. An original 1838 publication is on display in today’s museum. Students printed the Hawaiian Kingdom’s first paper currency, examples of which are also displayed.

The first cattle were gifted to Hawaii in 1793. Uncontrolled, they eventually plundered villages, gardens and farms. By invitation from King Kamehameha III, vaquero arrived as mentors of the native Hawaiians. Thus began the unique story of the Hawaiian Paniolo.

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The Paniolo Preservation Society exists to promote the heritage of the Hawaiian cowboy. We celebrate the Hawaiian ranching industry and the accomplishments of the generations of paniolo that made that industry possible. Representing all cowboys from all of the Hawaiʻian islands, our goal is to increase public awareness of the historical, present-day and future significance of Hawaiʻi’s ranching industry and the honored traditions of its paniolo.

Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center is a nonprofit, non-degree granting, community based visual arts education organization offering open access to quality arts instruction by teaching artists. The Hui provides an array of programs that support lifelong learning in the arts including art workshops and classes for all ages, lectures, exhibitions, art events, historical house tours, and educational outreach programs with schools and community partner organizations. Our programs and services are accessible to all regardless of artistic aptitude.

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The art studios at Hui No'eau are the only public studios on Maui that offer year-round access to fine art equipment and technical supervision for all who choose to participate.

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The exhibition program and galleries of Hui No'eau play an important role in Maui's art community and feature work from local artists and creative minds from around the world. The unique gallery shop features the work of Hui No'eau member artists and a wide variety of handcrafted and museum-quality gift items.

The following were destroyed by the August 2023 Lahaina Wildfire Disaster:

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Full loss: Wo Hing Museum and Cookhouse

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Severe damage (stone/coral walls still standing, but all wood and glass destroyed)

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Baldwin Home Museum and Master’s Reading Room

Old Lahaina Courthouse – Lahaina Heritage Museum

Old Lahaina Prison

Hale Aloha – Collections Storage and Public Programs

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Moderate damage (wind and minor fire damage)

Pioneer Mill Smokestack and Locomotives