Mission Houses Museum
Encyclopedia
The Mission Houses Museum at 553 South King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii
, was established in 1920 by the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, a private, non-profit organization and genealogical society, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian
missionaries
in Hawaii. In 1962, the Mission Houses, together with Kawaiahao Church, both built by those early missionaries, were designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
(NHL) under the combined name Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses. In 1966 all the NHLs were included in the National Register of Historic Places
.
The Mission Houses Museum collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits documents, artifacts, and other records of Hawaii’s “missionary” period from about 1820 to 1863. It interprets its historic site and collections and makes these collections available for research, educational purposes, and public enjoyment. The museum’s collection holds over 3,000 Hawaiian, Western, and Pacific artifacts, and more than 12,000 books, manuscripts, original letters, diaries, journals, illustrations and Hawaiian church records. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The general admission charge is $10, with discounts for students, seniors, and the military.
to the climate, culture, and building materials they encountered in the Sandwich Islands
.
from Boston in 1821. They had already been measured and cut, ready to assemble into a frame house suitable for the climate of New England: with small windows to help keep the heat inside and short eaves so as not to risk cracking under a load of snow.
Though principally occupied by the seven members of Daniel Chamberlain's family, it often housed as many as five other missionary families, along with occasional ailing sailors or orphans. The small parlor served as a schoolhouse, and the basement served as the dining hall. The cookhouse was a separate building.
, and a cellar
. The windows are larger, more numerous, and shuttered against the sun. The building now serves as the main exhibition hall for the Museum.
.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, was established in 1920 by the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, a private, non-profit organization and genealogical society, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in Hawaii. In 1962, the Mission Houses, together with Kawaiahao Church, both built by those early missionaries, were designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
(NHL) under the combined name Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses. In 1966 all the NHLs were included in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The Mission Houses Museum collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits documents, artifacts, and other records of Hawaii’s “missionary” period from about 1820 to 1863. It interprets its historic site and collections and makes these collections available for research, educational purposes, and public enjoyment. The museum’s collection holds over 3,000 Hawaiian, Western, and Pacific artifacts, and more than 12,000 books, manuscripts, original letters, diaries, journals, illustrations and Hawaiian church records. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The general admission charge is $10, with discounts for students, seniors, and the military.
The Houses
The evolution of Mission Houses architecture illustrates the progressive adaptation of missionaries from New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to the climate, culture, and building materials they encountered in the Sandwich 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...
.
Oldest Frame House
The materials to build the Oldest Frame House (Ka Hale Lāau ‘the wood house’) arrived by ship around Cape HornCape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
from Boston in 1821. They had already been measured and cut, ready to assemble into a frame house suitable for the climate of New England: with small windows to help keep the heat inside and short eaves so as not to risk cracking under a load of snow.
Though principally occupied by the seven members of Daniel Chamberlain's family, it often housed as many as five other missionary families, along with occasional ailing sailors or orphans. The small parlor served as a schoolhouse, and the basement served as the dining hall. The cookhouse was a separate building.
Chamberlain House
The Chamberlain House (Ka Hale Kamalani) was built in 1831 from materials procured locally: coral blocks cut from reefs offshore and lumber salvaged from ships. Designed by the mission's quartermaster, Levi Chamberlain, to hold supplies as well as people, it had two stories, an atticAttic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
, and a cellar
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
. The windows are larger, more numerous, and shuttered against the sun. The building now serves as the main exhibition hall for the Museum.
Print House
In 1841, a covered porch and balcony were added to the frame house, and an extra bedroom was built next door out of coral blocks. Both additions show further adaptation to an indoor-outdoor lifestyle appropriate to the climate. The extra coral building later became the mission's Print House (Ka Hale Pai) and now serves as a museum exhibit to show how the missionaries and native Hawaiians worked together to produce the first materials printed in the Hawaiian languageHawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
.