The Jean Greenwell Research Collection is the foundation for the Kona Historical Society’s archives. Jean’s generosity in sharing her knowledge has inspired others, and as a result, the archive has grown to include diverse sources of research and many photograph collections donated by Kona families.
The archive consists of collections of historical photographs, unpublished diaries, journals, letters, family records and memorabilia, land documents, and selected Kona newspapers and articles. Records of local coffee enterprises, ranches, community clubs, and ethnic organizations include correspondence, minutes of board and committee meetings, financial records, and publications.
HOW TO BEGIN RESEARCH IN OUR ARCHIVE
The archive is a privately funded and operated research archive. Our collections do not circulate, but we strive to work with the public to provide resources and help where we can. The first step in your research should include identifying resources available at public and state-funded libraries and archives with large collections and access policies. If you are ready for inquiries into our collections or wish to make an appointment with our archival assistant for a fee, use the form below.
The Archives are open for research by appointment. Please complete a research appointment request below.
RESEARCH FEES
Use fees help pay for the preservation and maintenance of our collection
Members
Join Kona Historical Society and receive one hour of research FREE!
First Hour of Visit: $65
Each Additional Hour: $50
Non-Members
First Hour of Visit: $75
Each Additional Hour: $60
Manuscript Collection
The Manuscript Collection includes significant primary material, dating from around 1850 to 1990. The collection illustrates the history of Kona agriculture, coffee, ranching, and beef production; and its churches and missionary activity, civic organizations, and small businesses.
Visual images Collection
The Society’s Visual Images Collection is comprised of both still photographs and moving images. Between 1980 and 1988 the prints, negatives, and slides in the Photograph Collection were organized, arranged by subject, and made accessible to the public.
Photograph Collection
The Photograph Collection, holds over 50,000 images depicting such subjects as ethnic culture, geography, agriculture, religion, and education in Kona between 1790 and 1994. The Moving Images Collection includes approximately 15,000 feet of restored film depicting Kona between 1930 and 1960, videotapes, and DVDs.
Oral history collection
The Oral History Collection includes approximately 100 hours of taped oral history interviews on topics related to life in Kona between 1900 and 1960, ranching, agriculture, coffee, ethnic lifestyles and diversity, employments, and avocations.
Map collection
The Map Collection consists of over 150 maps of the North and South Kona districts, including the mauka ranch lands; most are reproductions, with a few original hand-drawn maps.
Place Names of Kona
Place Names of Kona is the electronic database that brings together the research of Dorothy Barrere, Lloyd Soehren, and Jean Greenwell. With each researcher using different source material, they were able to pool their extensive knowledge to create this compilation of the place names used by the Hawaiians to describe the Kona environment.
Hawaiian kingdom property tax records
The Hawaiian Kingdom Property Tax Records for the years 1859, 1875, 1881, 1885, 1888, and 1890 have been entered into a research database at the Kona Historical Society archives. The tax records can be used to understand many aspects of Kona’s history: social issues, such as illness, death, and resident mobility into and out of Kona; ethnic land ownership and leasing; and the evolving ethnic participation in the various Kona industries—ranching, fishing, merchandising, and plantation development—during the critical period of 1850-1900.