Laupahoehoe (Leaf of Lava) had a thriving little community from the 1800's. There was a Hotel where a 1.00 a day could rent you a room but the hotel had no restaurant. You had to go across the street to the little chinese restaurant where 1.50 could by you a meal. The community was made up of fishermen and taro farmers where the area up to the cliff was terraced with taro fields. There was a church and many homes. The area was a normal nautical landing since there is no other point because of cliffs until Hilo. Laupahoehoe is infamous for April 1st, 1946 when three towering tidal waves roared over the peninsula at 7:00 AM killing many residents including 23 students and four teachers. The children happily gathered fish deposited from the huge, but not deadly, second wave on the school grounds while the teachers were in their cabin changing back into dry clothes when the final huge (some say 50 feet high) and deadly wave hit. No one had noticed all the water being sucked out of the bay until it was too late. Only two children and one teacher survived. They remained in the water 10 hours while people on the cliff could get a boat for rescue since all watercraft had been destroyed by the tidal wave. Other than one mangled body (crushed by the rocks) others were never found. A monument with the names and ages of the children and teachers has been erected on the school site. Most nearby residents including the school were moved to the top of the ridge.
Learn more about this city.City of Laupahoehoe, HI official siteCity of Laupahoehoe, HI Chamber of CommerceCity of Laupahoehoe, HI newspaperCounty of Laupahoehoe, HI official siteState of Hawaii official site