The Waialua Sugar Mill is a historical sugar refinery

Sugar refinery

A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...

 located at the base of the Waianae Mountains

Waianae Range

Waianae Range is the eroded remains of an ancient shield volcano that comprises the western half of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu...

 in the town of Waialua

Waialua, Hawai'i

Waialua is a census-designated place and North Shore community in the Waialua District on the Island of Oahu, City & County of Honolulu. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a total population of 3,761....

 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

.

History

In 1865, Levi and Warren Chamberlain started a sugar plantation

Sugar plantations in Hawaii

Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...

 in Waialua that ultimately failed, and Robert Halstead bought the Chamberlain plantation in 1874 under the partnership of Halstead & Gordon. Gordon died in 1888, and the plantation was managed by the Halstead Brothers, Robert and his two sons, Edgar and Frank. In 1898, 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 the Waialua Agricultural Company and purchased the plantation from the Halstead Brothers.

By the end of 1898, a new mill was constructed, and the first crop harvested in 1899, producing 1,741 tons of sugar. Castle & Cooke also expanded the acreage, built a railway system, and maximized ground and surface water storage and irrigation systems. Between 1900 and 1906, four surface water collection systems were constructed, giving the Waialua sugar plantation the largest water storage capacity in the state of Hawaii. As a result of these efforts, sugar production increased from less than 5000 to 20,000 tons from 1900-1905. Mechanical loading of harvested cane began to replace manual labor using self-propelled machines in 1920. Later, the Waialua plantation would co-generate electricity

Cogeneration

Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....

 and sell it to local communities, contributing a small percentage to Hawaii's energy production.

The Waialua Sugarmill and lands was acquired 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...

 one of Hawaii's 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 &...

 trading and sugar industry management companies.

By 1991, the mill was producing eight percent of sugar in Hawaii

Sugar plantations in Hawaii

Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...

 as the Waialua Sugar Company, a subsidiary of the Dole Food Company

Dole Food Company

Dole Food Company, Inc. is an American-based agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Westlake Village, California. The company is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, operating with 74,300 full-time and seasonal employees who are responsible for over 300...

. However, the plantation was unable to increase the tons of sugar per acre yields. The Waialua Sugar Mill finally closed in October, 1996 due to profit concerns. and became the last sugar plantation on the island of Oahu. By 1999, the old sugar workers camp was still inhabited by former Filipino laborers. The area currently serves as an industrial park

Industrial park

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

 for the North Shore

North Shore (Oahu)

The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oahu between Kaena Point and Kahuku Point...

of Oahu.