Henry Perrine Baldwin
Encyclopedia
Henry Perrine Baldwin was a businessman and politician on Maui
in the Hawaiian islands
. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin
, one of the "Big Five
" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii
.
(1798–1886), and his mother was Charlotte Fowler Baldwin.
He was probably named after American horticulturist Henry Perrine
(1797–1840).
He attended Punahou School
in Honolulu and returned to Maui to become a farmer. First he tried to manage William DeWitt Alexander
's rice plantation, but that failed. Instead by 1863 he went to work for his brother David (also called Dwight Baldwin, Jr) who had started a small sugarcane
farm. He hoped to earn enough money to go to medical school, but never left the sugar industry. He took a job as foreman (called luna) of the Waihee
plantation, owned by Christopher H. Lewers, under the management of Samuel Thomas Alexander
. In 1867 he traveled to the west coast of the United States
.
In 1869, Baldwin and Alexander became business partners and bought 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) in the eastern Maui ahupuaa (ancient land division) called Hāmākua Poko. (This is not to be confused with the Hāmākua district
of Hawaii island
.)
In 1870 they bought another 559 acres (2.3 km²) and planted sugarcane. Baldwin had gone into debt to buy the land.
They lived in an area called "Sunnyside" near the small Paliuli Sugar Mill, which had been built on the edge of Rainbow Gulch 20°53′32"N 156°21′3"W by Robert Hind. Alexander managed the larger Haiku mill
which had been constructed in 1861 by Castle & Cooke
, formed by two former missionaries. Alexander had married Martha Eliza Cooke, daughter of Amos Starr Cooke
, a co-founder of Castle & Cooke.
On March 28, 1876 Baldwin lost his right arm in an industrial accident at the Paliuli mill. Trying to adjust the rollers, his fingers got stuck in the cane grinder, pulling in his right arm, and he almost died before it could be turned off and reversed to free him. A worker was sent to get the nearest doctor ten miles (16 km) away to do the amputation. Within weeks he learned to write with his left hand, and continued to play organ in his church with one hand. In a month he was riding horseback in his fields.
gave freer access to market for sugar exported to the United States.
Although the Hawaiian Islands have a 12-month growing season
, a major problem with farming former dry forests
was their wide extremes in precipitation. After a quick tropical downpour the intense sun can cause enormous growth. But there are often years with little or no rain at all in some places. Baldwin said one day during a drought he knelt down in the field and prayed for rain. It came, and he promised that if he ever became successful, he would make sure he would build a suitable monument.
Alexander was more practical: his father had taught at Lahainaluna School where irrigation
ditch
es had been used for small private gardens since the times of ancient Hawaii
. Alexander noticed the rainforests on the eastern (windward
) side of the island and upper slopes of Haleakalā
received much more rainfall. The terrain in that area was too rough to plant, but they reasoned an aqueduct
could bring water to the lower, flatter area of their fields. William Harrison Rice
had irrigated a small sugar plantation in 1856, but this system would supply 3000 acres (1,214.1 ha). Alexander arranged a survey, worked out financing from other planters to create the Hamakua Ditch Company and negotiated a two year lease with the government of King David Kalākaua
to build the project starting September 30, 1876.
With no engineering training, Baldwin supervised what became known as the 17 miles (27.4 km) Hamakua ditch while recovering from his injury. Sugar competitor Claus Spreckels
had obtained another lease from the Kingdom government, so unless Baldwin completed his system by September 30, 1878, the water would go to Spreckels. Besides actual ditches lined with clay, sluice
s and siphon
s were used to cross several steep canyons. Baldwin would lower himself down into the gulches daily with his one remaining arm. Workers doubted that water would go down through a pipe and then go uphill on the other side.
Water started to flow to the Castle & Cooke plantation in July 1877. Crossing Maliko Gulch with the pipeline was the last major milestone, since they could then irrigate their own fields.
Alexander left for a trip to Europe on July 9, 1878, and left day-to-day management of Hawaiian operations to Baldwin. The project was over budget, but on-time and worked.
Several other projects were added through 1923 to the system.
The idea was copied over the years in projects on Maui and other islands. Irish civil engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy
designed the Koolau Ditch in 1904–1905 and some similar projects using technology developed for railroad tunnels. He then returned to San Francisco and applied the idea to the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
.
Alexander and Baldwin consolidated these projects into their East Maui Irrigation Company. The East Maui irrigation system was declared a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2002.
By 1877 Baldwin had the Hamakuapoko Mill built on the southwestern side of Maliko Gulch near the irrigated fields, 20°54′56"N 156°20′53"W.
The Haiku mill shut down in 1879.
The Paia Mill opened in 1880,
20°54′25"N 156°22′32"W
In 1881 the Kahului Railroad allowed the sugar to travel by train to the growing port of Kahului.
In 1882 Alexander moved to Oakland, California
and enrolled his children in the schools there.
Baldwin and his family also visited California
but returned in 1883 and he became manager of the Haiku plantation. He built another house near the former Haiku mill and started buying shares of the business.
Spreckels used his vast financial resources to bring German Engineer Hermann Schussler
to build his own irrigation system from 1878 to 1880, forming the Hawaii Commercial and Sugar Company. Spreckels also controlled the sugar refinery in California used for most Hawaiian sugar. Eventually Spreckels would sell out in 1898 and Baldwin would become a partner, and merge Haiku and Paia sugar companies into it. Baldwin managed HC&S personally from 1902 to 1906.
In 1887 he traveled to England
with brother-in-law Samuel Mills Damon
to see the Golden Jubilee
of Queen Victoria
.
In 1888 he offered the foundation of the old Paliuli mill to his church, and a wooden frame building was built on the site where he lost his arm — his monument for answering his prayers. He also helped fund restoration of the Wainee Church
of his father.
In 1888, Henry Baldwin and a few businessmen from Honolulu formed the Haleakala Ranch, consisting of 33817 acres (13,685.3 ha) on the slopes of the dormant volcano Haleakala
. Piiholo Ranch is part of that acreage, now used for tourism.
Henry Baldwin hired Louis von Tempsky to manage Haleakala ranch in 1899, and Louis' daughter Armine von Tempski
(1892–1943) wrote several novels and an autobiography about life on the Baldwin ranch.
In 1889 the McKinley Tariff
act raised tariffs on sugar exported to the U.S. market, and its price dropped to two cents a pound. Baldwin took advantage of the lower land prices and built an irrigation project on Kauai
island called the Hanapepe ditch for the Hawaiian Sugar Company. He moved his family to Kauai for a few months before moving back to Maui in 1893.
In 1894 a partnership with Alexander became agent to sell the sugar in California.
In 1900, the partnership became officially incorporated as Alexander & Baldwin
(A&B). With offices in both Honolulu and San Francisco, it acted as an agent for other plantations as well. Eventually A&B would evolve into a holding company for many other ventures, including shipping line Matson Navigation Company
.
In 1899 he supervised another irrigation project at Kihei.
In 1903 he built another house called Maluhia at a higher elevation near Olinda, Hawaii surrounded by fruit trees.
Keahua Ranch Company in 1909 became the Maui Pineapple Company
.
raised the property-owning requirements of voters, Henry Perrine Baldwin was elected to the Kingdom House of Nobles
from 1887 to 1892, and the Senate of the Republic of Hawaii
and Territory of Hawaii
1895–1904.
He was a member of the foreign affairs committee, and inherited his father's concern for public health, using his own money to fund better homes in the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement.
He introduced a bill proposing to outlaw employment of children under 13, but it was defeated.
He was a member of the controlling Reform Party, which evolved into the Hawaii Republican Party
. He generally opposed the ruling King Kalakaua
, but never expressed support for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893. He gave the speech nominating Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole
for Congressional delegate in 1902.
His sister Abigail Charlette Baldwin had married Samuel's brother William DeWitt Alexander
(1847–1912) in 1861.
Their first son Henry Alexander Baldwin
(1871–1946), known as "Harry", became manager of the Haiku Sugar Company, which was merged with other plantations to become the Maui Agricultural Company in 1921.
Harry was very active in politics, including serving as delegate to the United States House of Representatives
from the Territory of Hawaii
.
Son William Dwight Baldwin was born October 25, 1873, graduated from Yale
in 1897, and then Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1901. He returned in 1905 to practice medicine in Honolulu until 1914 when he became a rancher on Maui. He died October 30, 1943.
Arthur Douglas Baldwin was born April 8, 1876, graduated from Yale
and then Harvard Law School
1898–1891 He moved to Cleveland, Ohio
and practised law in his firm Garfield McGregor & Baldwin. His law partner James Rudolph Garfield
was son of President James A. Garfield. He married Reba Louise Williams in 1902 and had five children. He wrote a biography of his father.
He became a lieutenant of field artillery in World War I
and died in 1954.
Son Frank Fowler Baldwin was born March 30, 1878, attended Yale but left in 1898. He started work as a field worker and eventually became President of Kahului Railroad in 1910, and of the Hawaiian Commercial Company (HC&S) when Henry Perrine died.
In 1948 Frank combined HC&S with Maui Agricultural Company for a combined 25454 acres (10,300.9 ha). He died February 6, 1960.
Daughters Maud Mansfield (Baldwin) Cooke (1872–1961) and Charlotte (Baldwin) Rice (1884–1938) married descendants of other missionaries, Joseph Platt Cooke (1870–1918), and Harold Waterhouse Rice, who also were in the sugar business. Cooke was grandson of Amos Starr Cooke and nephew of businessman Samuel Garner Wilder
.
Youngest son Samuel Alexander Baldwin was born August 30, 1885. He attended Punahou School, Oakland High School
in California
, and Yale
in 1908. He married Katherine Smith in Honolulu, May 10, 1909. He became a champion polo player and managed Haleakala Ranch when von Tempsky retired.
Samuel died July 21, 1950.
In 1910 the Baldwins founded the Fred Baldwin memorial foundation in honor of their son Fred Chambers Baldwin (1881–1905) who died October 11, 1905 in New York City
. From 1910 through World War II
it supported an elderly housing facility. Since then it has made grants to the Maui community.
Henry Perrine Baldwin had an operation for appendicitis
in January 1909 and traveled to California in the summer of 1911. He died a few days after returning on July 8, 1911.
David Thomas Fleming (1881–1955) was manager of Baldwin's Honolua
Ranch where he planted pineapple
in 1912. Fleming converted the cattle ranch to a pineapple plantation. This was the beginning of Maui Land & Pineapple Company
, an industry that continued until 2009.
In 1913 the Old Maui High School
was built on the Mahakuapoka plantation land.
Henry Perrine Baldwin High School was named for him in Wailuku, Hawaii
in 1934.
The former superintendent's residence of a Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company sugar mill in Puunēnē is now the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum. A Baldwin park is near the mill.
In 1916 another new Makawao Union Church
was built of concrete with stone veneer and is called the "Henry Perrine Baldwin Memorial Church". Many Baldwin family members are buried in the Makawao cemetery near him.
William Hyde Rice
(son of William Harrison Rice and father of Harold W. Rice who married Charlotte Baldwin) and Henry Alexander Baldwin were among the notable speakers.
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
in the Hawaiian islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
, one of the "Big Five
Big Five (Hawaii)
The Big Five was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander &...
" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
.
Life
Henry Perrine Baldwin was born August 29, 1842 in Lahaina, Hawaii. His father was American Christian missionary Dwight BaldwinDwight Baldwin (missionary)
Dwight Baldwin was an American Christian missionary and physician on Maui, one of the Hawaiian Islands, during the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that founded some of the largest businesses in the islands.-Life:...
(1798–1886), and his mother was Charlotte Fowler Baldwin.
He was probably named after American horticulturist Henry Perrine
Henry Perrine
Henry Perrine was a physician, horticulturist, United States Consul in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the United States....
(1797–1840).
He attended Punahou School
Punahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
in Honolulu and returned to Maui to become a farmer. First he tried to manage William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander was an educator, author and linguist in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.He then constructed maps for the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:...
's rice plantation, but that failed. Instead by 1863 he went to work for his brother David (also called Dwight Baldwin, Jr) who had started a small sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
farm. He hoped to earn enough money to go to medical school, but never left the sugar industry. He took a job as foreman (called luna) of the Waihee
Waihee, Hawaii
Waihee, Hawaii is an unincorporated town in Maui County on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii....
plantation, owned by Christopher H. Lewers, under the management of Samuel Thomas Alexander
Samuel Thomas Alexander
Samuel Thomas Alexander co-founded a major agricultural and transportation business in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Early life:In November 1831, the Reverend William Patterson Alexander and Mary Ann McKinney Alexander arrived in April 1832 as missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands...
. In 1867 he traveled to the west coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1869, Baldwin and Alexander became business partners and bought 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) in the eastern Maui ahupuaa (ancient land division) called Hāmākua Poko. (This is not to be confused with the Hāmākua district
Hamakua
thumb|right|280px|Districts of [[Hawaii |Hawaii island]]: from northernmost, clockwise; [[Kohala, Hawaii|Kohala]], Hāmākua , [[Hilo, Hawaii|Hilo]], [[Puna, Hawaii|Puna]], [[Kau, Hawaii|Kaū]], [[Kona District, Hawaii|Kona]]...
of Hawaii island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
.)
In 1870 they bought another 559 acres (2.3 km²) and planted sugarcane. Baldwin had gone into debt to buy the land.
They lived in an area called "Sunnyside" near the small Paliuli Sugar Mill, which had been built on the edge of Rainbow Gulch 20°53′32"N 156°21′3"W by Robert Hind. Alexander managed the larger Haiku mill
Haiku Mill
The Haikū Sugar Mill was a processing factory for sugarcane from 1861 to 1879 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.-History:The northeastern coast of Maui had a small village named Hai kū which literally means "sharp break" in the Hawaiian language....
which had been constructed in 1861 by Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture...
, formed by two former missionaries. Alexander had married Martha Eliza Cooke, daughter of Amos Starr Cooke
Amos Starr Cooke
Amos Starr Cooke was an educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century.-Life:Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Connecticut, December 1, 1810....
, a co-founder of Castle & Cooke.
On March 28, 1876 Baldwin lost his right arm in an industrial accident at the Paliuli mill. Trying to adjust the rollers, his fingers got stuck in the cane grinder, pulling in his right arm, and he almost died before it could be turned off and reversed to free him. A worker was sent to get the nearest doctor ten miles (16 km) away to do the amputation. Within weeks he learned to write with his left hand, and continued to play organ in his church with one hand. In a month he was riding horseback in his fields.
Hamakua ditch
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875....
gave freer access to market for sugar exported to the United States.
Although the Hawaiian Islands have a 12-month growing season
Growing season
In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....
, a major problem with farming former dry forests
Hawaiian tropical dry forests
The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...
was their wide extremes in precipitation. After a quick tropical downpour the intense sun can cause enormous growth. But there are often years with little or no rain at all in some places. Baldwin said one day during a drought he knelt down in the field and prayed for rain. It came, and he promised that if he ever became successful, he would make sure he would build a suitable monument.
Alexander was more practical: his father had taught at Lahainaluna School where irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
ditch
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...
es had been used for small private gardens since the times of ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
. Alexander noticed the rainforests on the eastern (windward
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
) side of the island and upper slopes of Haleakalā
Haleakala
Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...
received much more rainfall. The terrain in that area was too rough to plant, but they reasoned an aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
could bring water to the lower, flatter area of their fields. William Harrison Rice
William Harrison Rice
William Harrison Rice was a missionary teacher from the United States who traveled to the Hawaiian Islands and managed an early sugar plantation.-Life:...
had irrigated a small sugar plantation in 1856, but this system would supply 3000 acres (1,214.1 ha). Alexander arranged a survey, worked out financing from other planters to create the Hamakua Ditch Company and negotiated a two year lease with the government of King David Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
to build the project starting September 30, 1876.
With no engineering training, Baldwin supervised what became known as the 17 miles (27.4 km) Hamakua ditch while recovering from his injury. Sugar competitor Claus Spreckels
Claus Spreckels
Claus Spreckels, formally Adolph Claus J. Spreckels , , was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history...
had obtained another lease from the Kingdom government, so unless Baldwin completed his system by September 30, 1878, the water would go to Spreckels. Besides actual ditches lined with clay, sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
s and siphon
Siphon
The word siphon is sometimes used to refer to a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. But in the English language today, the word siphon usually refers to a tube in an inverted U shape which causes a liquid to flow uphill, above the surface of the reservoir,...
s were used to cross several steep canyons. Baldwin would lower himself down into the gulches daily with his one remaining arm. Workers doubted that water would go down through a pipe and then go uphill on the other side.
Water started to flow to the Castle & Cooke plantation in July 1877. Crossing Maliko Gulch with the pipeline was the last major milestone, since they could then irrigate their own fields.
Alexander left for a trip to Europe on July 9, 1878, and left day-to-day management of Hawaiian operations to Baldwin. The project was over budget, but on-time and worked.
Several other projects were added through 1923 to the system.
The idea was copied over the years in projects on Maui and other islands. Irish civil engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy
Michael O'Shaughnessy
Michael Maurice O'Shaughnessy was an Irish Civil engineer who became city engineer for the city of San Francisco during the first part of the twentieth century and developed the Hetch-Hetchy water system.-Life:...
designed the Koolau Ditch in 1904–1905 and some similar projects using technology developed for railroad tunnels. He then returned to San Francisco and applied the idea to the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct is a conveyance of Tuolumne River water runoff from federal lands in Yosemite National Park to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...
.
Alexander and Baldwin consolidated these projects into their East Maui Irrigation Company. The East Maui irrigation system was declared a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2002.
Growing the business
The irrigation projects became so profitable that the Alexander and Baldwin partnership was able to buy out other planters and enlarge their holdings.By 1877 Baldwin had the Hamakuapoko Mill built on the southwestern side of Maliko Gulch near the irrigated fields, 20°54′56"N 156°20′53"W.
The Haiku mill shut down in 1879.
The Paia Mill opened in 1880,
20°54′25"N 156°22′32"W
In 1881 the Kahului Railroad allowed the sugar to travel by train to the growing port of Kahului.
In 1882 Alexander moved to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and enrolled his children in the schools there.
Baldwin and his family also visited California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
but returned in 1883 and he became manager of the Haiku plantation. He built another house near the former Haiku mill and started buying shares of the business.
Spreckels used his vast financial resources to bring German Engineer Hermann Schussler
Hermann Schussler
Hermann Schüssler or Schussler was a German water-systems engineer and architect of dams famous for designing the Comstock water system.-Early years:...
to build his own irrigation system from 1878 to 1880, forming the Hawaii Commercial and Sugar Company. Spreckels also controlled the sugar refinery in California used for most Hawaiian sugar. Eventually Spreckels would sell out in 1898 and Baldwin would become a partner, and merge Haiku and Paia sugar companies into it. Baldwin managed HC&S personally from 1902 to 1906.
In 1887 he traveled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with brother-in-law Samuel Mills Damon
Samuel Mills Damon
Samuel Mills Damon was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Samuel Mills Damon was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845....
to see the Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...
of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
.
In 1888 he offered the foundation of the old Paliuli mill to his church, and a wooden frame building was built on the site where he lost his arm — his monument for answering his prayers. He also helped fund restoration of the Wainee Church
Waiola Church
Waiola Church is the site of a historic mission established in 1823 on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Originally called Wainee Church till 1953, the cemetery is the final resting place for early members of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii....
of his father.
In 1888, Henry Baldwin and a few businessmen from Honolulu formed the Haleakala Ranch, consisting of 33817 acres (13,685.3 ha) on the slopes of the dormant volcano Haleakala
Haleakala
Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...
. Piiholo Ranch is part of that acreage, now used for tourism.
Henry Baldwin hired Louis von Tempsky to manage Haleakala ranch in 1899, and Louis' daughter Armine von Tempski
Armine von Tempski
Armine von Tempski was an American writer and one of Hawaii's best known authors...
(1892–1943) wrote several novels and an autobiography about life on the Baldwin ranch.
In 1889 the McKinley Tariff
McKinley Tariff
The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act framed by Representative William McKinley that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition...
act raised tariffs on sugar exported to the U.S. market, and its price dropped to two cents a pound. Baldwin took advantage of the lower land prices and built an irrigation project on Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
island called the Hanapepe ditch for the Hawaiian Sugar Company. He moved his family to Kauai for a few months before moving back to Maui in 1893.
In 1894 a partnership with Alexander became agent to sell the sugar in California.
In 1900, the partnership became officially incorporated as Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
(A&B). With offices in both Honolulu and San Francisco, it acted as an agent for other plantations as well. Eventually A&B would evolve into a holding company for many other ventures, including shipping line Matson Navigation Company
Matson Navigation Company
The Matson Navigation Company, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, is a private shipping company with roots extending into the late 19th century...
.
In 1899 he supervised another irrigation project at Kihei.
In 1903 he built another house called Maluhia at a higher elevation near Olinda, Hawaii surrounded by fruit trees.
Keahua Ranch Company in 1909 became the Maui Pineapple Company
Maui Pineapple Company
Maui Pineapple Company, Ltd. was a subsidiary of Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc, and was the USA’s largest grower, processor, and shipper of Hawaiian pineapples. MPC had existed for a century, based in Maui, Hawaii, United States, and at one time cultivated and processed approximately of...
.
Politics
After the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a legal document by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites...
raised the property-owning requirements of voters, Henry Perrine Baldwin was elected to the Kingdom House of Nobles
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
from 1887 to 1892, and the Senate of the Republic of Hawaii
Republic of Hawaii
The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...
and Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
1895–1904.
He was a member of the foreign affairs committee, and inherited his father's concern for public health, using his own money to fund better homes in the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement.
He introduced a bill proposing to outlaw employment of children under 13, but it was defeated.
He was a member of the controlling Reform Party, which evolved into the Hawaii Republican Party
Hawaii Republican Party
The Hawaii Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party of the United States. Based in Honolulu, the party is a central organization established for the promotion of the party platform as it is drafted in convention every other year...
. He generally opposed the ruling King Kalakaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, but never expressed support for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893. He gave the speech nominating Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole
Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole Piikoi was a prince of the reigning House of Kalākaua when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown by international businessmen in 1893...
for Congressional delegate in 1902.
Family and legacy
He married Emily Whitney Alexander (1846–1943), sister of his business partner Samuel Alexander, on April 5, 1870.His sister Abigail Charlette Baldwin had married Samuel's brother William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander was an educator, author and linguist in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.He then constructed maps for the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:...
(1847–1912) in 1861.
Their first son Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin or Harry Alexander Baldwin was a sugarcane plantation manager, and politician who served as Congressional Delegate to the United States House of Representatives representing the Territory of Hawaii...
(1871–1946), known as "Harry", became manager of the Haiku Sugar Company, which was merged with other plantations to become the Maui Agricultural Company in 1921.
Harry was very active in politics, including serving as delegate to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
.
Son William Dwight Baldwin was born October 25, 1873, graduated from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1897, and then Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1901. He returned in 1905 to practice medicine in Honolulu until 1914 when he became a rancher on Maui. He died October 30, 1943.
Arthur Douglas Baldwin was born April 8, 1876, graduated from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and then Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
1898–1891 He moved to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and practised law in his firm Garfield McGregor & Baldwin. His law partner James Rudolph Garfield
James Rudolph Garfield
James Rudolph Garfield was an American politician, lawyer and son of President James Abram Garfield and First Lady Lucretia Garfield. He was Secretary of the Interior during Theodore Roosevelt's administration....
was son of President James A. Garfield. He married Reba Louise Williams in 1902 and had five children. He wrote a biography of his father.
He became a lieutenant of field artillery in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and died in 1954.
Son Frank Fowler Baldwin was born March 30, 1878, attended Yale but left in 1898. He started work as a field worker and eventually became President of Kahului Railroad in 1910, and of the Hawaiian Commercial Company (HC&S) when Henry Perrine died.
In 1948 Frank combined HC&S with Maui Agricultural Company for a combined 25454 acres (10,300.9 ha). He died February 6, 1960.
Daughters Maud Mansfield (Baldwin) Cooke (1872–1961) and Charlotte (Baldwin) Rice (1884–1938) married descendants of other missionaries, Joseph Platt Cooke (1870–1918), and Harold Waterhouse Rice, who also were in the sugar business. Cooke was grandson of Amos Starr Cooke and nephew of businessman Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel Gardner Wilder was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831 in Leominster, Massachusetts....
.
Youngest son Samuel Alexander Baldwin was born August 30, 1885. He attended Punahou School, Oakland High School
Oakland High School (California)
Oakland Senior High School is a public high school in California. Established in 1869, it is the oldest high school in Oakland, California and the sixth oldest high school in the state.-Background:...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1908. He married Katherine Smith in Honolulu, May 10, 1909. He became a champion polo player and managed Haleakala Ranch when von Tempsky retired.
Samuel died July 21, 1950.
In 1910 the Baldwins founded the Fred Baldwin memorial foundation in honor of their son Fred Chambers Baldwin (1881–1905) who died October 11, 1905 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. From 1910 through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it supported an elderly housing facility. Since then it has made grants to the Maui community.
Henry Perrine Baldwin had an operation for appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
in January 1909 and traveled to California in the summer of 1911. He died a few days after returning on July 8, 1911.
David Thomas Fleming (1881–1955) was manager of Baldwin's Honolua
Honolua, Hawaii
Honolua Bay, Mokuleia Bay and Lipoa Point are part of an area known as the ahupua'a of Honolua, located just North of Kapalua, West Maui in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The area is a mix of agricultural and conservation land tended by the Maui Land & Pineapple Company in Lahaina, Hawaii,...
Ranch where he planted pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
in 1912. Fleming converted the cattle ranch to a pineapple plantation. This was the beginning of Maui Land & Pineapple Company
Maui Land & Pineapple Company
Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. is a land holding and operating company founded in 1909 and based in Maui, Hawaii, United States. It owns approximately on the island of Maui. It develops, sells, and manages residential, resort, commercial and industrial real estate; and operates retail, golf...
, an industry that continued until 2009.
In 1913 the Old Maui High School
Maui High School (Kahului, Hawaii)
Maui High School is a public high school founded in 1913 in Hamakuapoko, a sugar plantation town on the island of Maui in Hawaii. In 1972, the school moved to its new location in Kahului, Hawaii.- Old Maui High School:...
was built on the Mahakuapoka plantation land.
Henry Perrine Baldwin High School was named for him in Wailuku, Hawaii
Wailuku, Hawaii
Wailuku is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 12,296 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Maui County.Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Īao Valley...
in 1934.
The former superintendent's residence of a Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company sugar mill in Puunēnē is now the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum. A Baldwin park is near the mill.
In 1916 another new Makawao Union Church
Makawao Union Church
Makawao Union Church is a church near Makawao on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It was founded by New England missionary Jonathan Smith Green during the Kingdom of Hawaii. The third historic structure used by the congregation was designed by noted local architect C.W. Dickey and dedicated in 1917 as...
was built of concrete with stone veneer and is called the "Henry Perrine Baldwin Memorial Church". Many Baldwin family members are buried in the Makawao cemetery near him.
William Hyde Rice
William Hyde Rice
William Hyde Rice was a businessman and politician during the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He collected and published legends of Hawaiian mythology.-Life:William Hyde Rice was born at Honolulu, Hawaii on July 23, 1846...
(son of William Harrison Rice and father of Harold W. Rice who married Charlotte Baldwin) and Henry Alexander Baldwin were among the notable speakers.