Piti, Guam

Pitiis avillagelocated on the central west coast of theUnited Statesterritory ofGuam. It contains northern and eastern coastlines ofApra Harbor, includingCabras Island, which has the commercialPort of Guamand the island's largest power plants. Piti was a pre-SpanishCHamoruvillage and, after Spanish colonization, became the primary port town on Guam. The town was largely destroyed during the 1944liberation of Guamand the population relocated during the wartime construction of Apra Harbor.
Piti is located along the coastline between the villages ofAsan-Mainain the north andSanta Ritain the south. Its inland areas, which include Mount Tenjo (305 metres (1,001 ft)) and Mount Chacao (309 metres (1,014 ft)), bordersYona.Guam Highway 1, known as Marine Corps Drive, runs along the mainland coastline of the village. The Asan Memorial Beach Unit ofWar in the Pacific National Historical Parkis at the northern boundary of Piti and the small hilly peninsula atAsan Invasion Beachis the northern physical marker of thePiti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve. The Preserve off the northeastern coast of the village has two beaches:Tepungan Beach Parkand thePedro Santos Memorial Park.Cabras Island, now artificially connected to the mainland, contains the main power plants for Guam and thePort of Guamand is accessible from the intersection of Marine Corps Drive andGuam Highway 11, known as Cabras Road. The Glass Breakwater that extends westward from Cabras Island protects the northern side ofApra Harbor.
Most of the village population is located uphill of the intersection of Marine Corps Drive and Cabras Road. Jose L.G. Rios Middle School, the Piti Guns Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, and village government buildings are located here. TheGuam Veterans Cemeteryis located immediately south, at the intersection of Marine Corps Drive andGuam Highway 6, known as Spruance Halsey Drive.Taguag Cemeteryis located uphill on Highway 6, which provides southern access toNimitz Hill, as well asNimitz Hill Annexin Asan. Immediately south of this intersection is the intersection withGuam Highway 18, which provides access to Drydock Island, a small peninsula extending eastward into Apra Harbor. This provides access to Cabras Marina, military fuel wharves, and the Marianas Yacht Club. The yacht club is onSasa Bay, another of Guam's marine preserves, located between Drydock Island and Polaris Point to the south. Polaris Point, the home base ofSubmarine Squadron 15, and otherNaval Base Guamcoastal area along northern Inner Apra Harbor to the east of Marine Corps Drive fall within Piti. The village boundary with Santa Rita is theAtantano River.
Inland of Marine Corps Drive are two military fuel tank farms underJoint Region Marianasat Sasa Valley and Tenjo Valley. The tank farms are supplied by two fuel wharves at the end of Drydock Island.
The village of Piti contains threeNRHP-listed properties on land: theAtantano Shrine, the oldest portion of which commemorates the 1784-85 construction of the Piti-Hagåtña road; thePiti Guns, hauled by CHamoru forced labor into the hills duringthe Japanese occupationbut not in operation at the time ofthe 1944 liberation; and theQuan Outdoor Oven, a 20th century example of the traditional oven introduced by the Spanish in the 17th century. Two NRHP-listed shipwrecks, theSMSCormoranandTokai Maru, that lie at the bottom of Apra Harbor are technically within Piti.
Piti was an ancientCHamorusettlement before the arrival of Europeans. Its name likely derives from theCHamoruwordputi, meaning to hurt or ache. However, the village was not strategically important on the island until the Spanish began to improveApra Harborin the early 1700s. After the 1740s and when the winds were favorable, most ships anchored in Apra Harbor and ferried their cargo to shore in small boats. From there, it was pulled in two-wheeled carts from Piti to the government store inHagåtña. The crushed limestone road between Piti and Hagåtña was the only real road on Guam in this period. While pre-contact Chamorus had grownricein natural swamps, the Spanish introduced the first ricepaddy fieldsin Piti in the 1830s. Cultivation of rice in Piti continued throughWorld War II.While Piti served as the main port entry for Guam, the village ofSumay, located on the southern shore of Apra Harbor, was the favored stop for thewhalingships of the early nineteenth century.
During the 1898 AmericanCapture of Guam, Piti was the location of the formal Spanish surrender. The following year, the Americans established a Navy Yard at Piti, followed by aUSDAagricultural experiment stationin 1909. The Piti Navy Yard was one of the primary targets of Japanese bombing during the 1941Japanese invasion, driving many residents to flee north on the road to Hagåtña. During theJapanese occupation of Guam, CHamorus were forced to expand Piti's rice fields to help feed the occupying troops. They were also forced to haul coastal defense guns into the Piti hillside, though they were not operational by the time of theAmerican liberationin 1944.The U.S. military substantially reconstructed and altered the shoreline of Apra Harbor as Guam became a major base for the remainder of thePacific War. In 1948, the U.S. government declared aneminent domaintaking of parts of Piti, as well as Sumay andAgat, for little or no compensation, moving the local population from the harbor shoreline.
Notable residents includeBenjamin Cruz(born 1951), a lawyer and politician.
TheU.S. Census Bureauidentifies twocensus-designated placesin Piti: Piti,andNimitz Hill.
Guam Department of Educationoperates non-military public schools. Jose Rios Middle School is located in Piti. Secondary students go toSouthern High SchoolinSanta Rita.
In regards to theDepartment of Defense Education Activity(DoDEA), Piti is in the school transportation zone for McCool Elementary and McCool Middle School, whileGuam High Schoolis the island's sole DoDEA high school.
Jose Rios Middle School is in Piti.
13°27′39″N144°41′27″E﻿ / ﻿13.46083°N 144.69083°E﻿ /13.46083; 144.69083