Kapa'a

Kapa'a, like most rural towns on Kaua'i and many in Hawai'i, got its start in the 19th century as a sugar town. But, within five years, Kapa'a's sugar mill was gone; the little village almost disappeared. By the early 20th century, Kapa'a was once again a thriving community. Self-reliant merchants and shopkeepers, first mostly Chinese and then Japanese, competed with the neighboring plantation store. Homesteaders populated the hills behind Kapa'a, and two pineapple canneries offered employment.