What’s now the Waimea United Church of Christ was originally erected in 1847 by Reverend George Rowell. Protestant missionaries had lived in Waimea for over twenty years by then, but the previous church on this site had collapsed. Rowell built its replacement using limestone and ohia wood from Koke‘e, and clad it in crushed coral brought up by Native Hawaiian divers. Destroyed by Hurricane ‘Iniki, it was faithfully reconstructed in the 1990s.
Waimea United Church of Christ
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Nearby attractions
1. West Kauaʻi Technology & Visitor Center
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Waimea’s friendly visitor center holds modest but interesting exhibits on Hawaiian culture, Captain Cook, sugar plantations and the US military. Its gift…
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The evocative skeleton of this 19th-century sugar mill still looms over Waimea. Pumping out sugar from the Westside, it fueled Kaua‘i’s economy until 1945…
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Sunday’s Hawaiian-language mass at this simple low-slung church makes an interesting way to connect with local culture. Waimea’s first Christian…
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This small grassy park at Waimea’s main intersection holds a statue of Captain Cook. Display panels explain local history.
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A statue of Captain James Cook stands on Waimea’s central green space. When his ships Resolution and Discovery sailed into Waimea Bay in January 1778,…
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Waimea’s plantation-era core offers some interesting architecture. Take a short stroll to admire the neoclassical First Hawaiian Bank (1929), the art deco…
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