Greenwell Store
HI 11, Kealakekua, HIThe Greenwell store of Kona built in c. 1851 originally served as a store and post office. Nicholas Greenwell, the store's builder, also served as the area's postmaster as well as the area's general merchandiser. The building is the only commercial structure from this period left in Kona. It displays a unique commercial use of mortar and fieldstone. The building is still owned and maintained by Green- well heirs.
H. Nicholas Greenwell was born in England in 1826. He sold his commission in the Army at age 23 and left for Australia to make a new start where he bought a sheep station. In 1849 he sailed to California in search of gold. He then came to Hawaii and worked in Kailua. In 1867 Mr. Greenwell returned to England to visit his family and on his way back to Hawaii stopped in the Caribbean. On the island of Monsarrat, he met his bride Elizabeth Caroline Hall. They returned to Hawaii together, bringing a new variety of oranges found in Brazil. Nicholas Greenwell is remembered for his cultivation of navel oranges which he exported, and his buying and selling of sheep skins which he did through his store. He also became involved with dairies in the 1880s and later began extensive ranching. He and his wife had eleven children.
After serving community interests, the building was later used by the Greenwell Ranch. It was turned into a ranch warehouse. In c. 1959 the interior was altered and the exterior portico and porch were added. The building's original slate roof was replaced with corrugated iron at that time. Plans are presently underway to donate the building to the Kona Historical Society, to be used as a general headquarters.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.