Waiola Church

Waiola Church and Cemetery in Lāhainā is the site of a historic mission established in 1823 on the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi. Originally called Waineʻe Church until 1953, the cemetery is the final resting place for early members of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

In 1894, the church was destroyed by fire and rebuilt, but it was lost again to the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.

History 
The first mission to Maui was founded by Reverend William Richards (1793–1847) in 1823.
For a few years, temporary structures made from wooden poles with a thatched roof were used. In 1828, island Governor Hoapili supported the building of a stone and wood structure.
The Christian church was built adjacent to a pond surrounding an island called Mokuʻula, which was sacred to traditional Hawaiian religion and residence of the king. The first stone building was dedicated on March 4, 1832 and called Waineʻe Church.

Rev. Ephraim Spaulding (1802–1840) joined with his wife Juliet Brooks (1810–1898) from 1832 to 1836.
Rev. Dwight Baldwin transferred here in 1836, and served as physician, even though trained in theology. The Baldwins rebuilt the house of the Spaldings, which was kept in the family until 1967 when it was made into a museum.

Waineʻe (moving water) served as the church for the Hawaiian royal family during the time when Lahaina was the Kingdom's capital, from the 1820 through the mid-1840s. Several members of the royal family who were initially buried near Halekamani and on Mokuʻula were reburied in 1884 in the cemetery (the first Christian cemetery in the state). A notable aspect of the cemetery is that the missionaries and Native Hawaiians were buried side by side.

Another building called Hale Halewai (meeting house) was built a few blocks to the northwest around the same time. In 1855, the congregation built a larger building, calling it Aloha Hale (aloha house), completed in 1858. It was built to celebrate how Baldwin had spared the population of Maui from the smallpox epidemic of 1853. In 1859, the royal government added benches and desks, and used it as a school. In 1862, the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii used it temporarily.

In 1894, a fire destroyed the church. A new one was built from donations by Henry Perrine Baldwin, son of the original Baldwin pastor. In the 1950s, a wind storm knocked down the bell tower of Hale Aloha and damaged the Waineʻe Church. A modern church structure was finished in 1953, when the name was changed to Waiola (living water). The bell from the Hale Aloha tower was salvaged for the new church.

Hale Aloha was remodeled in 1908, but fell into disrepair, and was missing its roof a floor in 1973 when a restoration was begun by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. The structure was rebuilt by 1985, and stonework by 1992. A bell tower that was built in 1910 was also restored. A new bell was installed in the Hale Aloha tower in 2009. Hale Aloha is located on 600 Luakini Street.

In August 2023, the church building was lost to the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.

Description 
The church and Hale Aloha are two contributing properties of the Lahaina Historic District, designated a National Historic Landmark District on December 29, 1962.

The congregation is pastored by licensed minister Kahu Anela Rosa. Sunday services are at 9:00 a.m. Services are a mixture of Hawaiian and English language and song. The congregation is affiliated with the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Burials in the cemetery 
The tombstones in the cemetery, with death dates:
Keōpūolani, September 16, 1823
Kaumualiʻi, May 26, 1824 (1825 on monument)
Nāhiʻenaʻena, December 30, 1836 
Kuini Liliha, August 25, 1839 
Ulumāheihei Hoapili, also known as Hoapili, January 3, 1840 
Kalākua Kaheiheimālie, also known as Hoapili Wahine, January 16, 1842 
Kekauʻōnohi, granddaughter of Kamehameha I, 2 June 1847 
William Richards, November 7, 1847

Gallery

References 

Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii
United Church of Christ churches in Hawaii
Religious buildings and structures in Maui County, Hawaii
Churches completed in 1832
Churches completed in 1953
Historic district contributing properties in Hawaii
Buildings and structures in Lahaina, Hawaii
1823 establishments in Hawaii
National Register of Historic Places in Maui County, Hawaii
Burial sites of Hawaiian royal houses
Church fires in the United States
Destroyed churches in the United States
Buildings and structures destroyed by the 2023 Hawaii wildfires