HAWAI`I COUNTIES

There are 4 administrative divisions³, referred to as counties, in the state of Hawai`i. The population figures given below are from the 2000 census. You may list the counties by county name, by area in square miles, by year organized or by population by clicking on the column headings or using the pull-down list box.

County

Area (sq miles)

County Seat

Established

Population (2000)

Kalawao County³

1905

147

Kauai County⁴

622

Lihue

1905

58,463

Maui County⁵

1,159

Wailuku

1905

128,094

Hawaii County¹

4,028

Hilo

1905

148,677

City and County of Honolulu²

600

Honolulu

1905

876,156

¹Hawaii County is comprised of the island of Hawaii.

²The City and County of Honolulu is comprised of the island of Oahu and the small islands northwest of Kauai and Niihau extending from Nihoa to Kure except for Midway.

³Kalawao County is comprised of 13 square miles on the Kalaupapa Peninsula, on the north coast of the island of Molokai. It's separated from the rest of the island of Molokai by sea cliffs and land access is only available via a mule trail. Kalawao County, not always listed as a county, is separate from the rest of Moloka, which is part of Maui County. Kalawao does not have a county government but is administered by the State Department of Health.

The County of Kalawao consists of that portion of the island of Molokai known as Kalaupapa, Kalawao, and Waikolu, commonly known as the Kalaupapa Settlement. As a county, it has only the powers especially conferred by sections 326-34 to 326-38, Hawaii Revised Statutes. None of the provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes regarding counties are deemed to be applicable to Kalawao.

The County of Kalawao is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health. It is governed by the laws and rules relating to the Department and the care and treatment of persons with Hansen's disease.

Sheriff. The Sheriff is the only county officer of Kalawao. The Sheriff is generally a resident of the County appointed by the Department of Health.

Source: The State Department of Health, http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/gd/doh.pdf, September 5, 2006

Kalawao County shares the same area as Kalaupapa National Historical Park, and includes the Kalaupapa Settlement where the Kingdom of Hawaii, the territory, and the state once isolated people suffering from leprosy.

⁴Kauai County is comprised of the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

⁵Maui County is comprised of the islands of Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai, except for the small part of Molokia that is Kalawao County.

Source: United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov, September 5, 2006.
Source: The National Association of Counties, http://www.naco.org, September 5, 2006.
Source: The National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/archive/kala/, September 5, 2006

About Counties: Overview of counties from the National Association of Counties.

History of County Government: Three-part history of county government in the United States from the National Association of Counties.

The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000, by Joseph Nathan Cane and updated by by Charles Curry Aiken. Purchase the premiere guide to information on the histories of the names, sizes, and populations of the counties of the United States. Scarecrow Press; 5th edition (December 28, 2004) 560 pages.

County Name Origins of the United States by Michael A. Beatty. This thorough and carefully prepared work is recommended for medium to large academic and public libraries. McFarland & Company (May 2001) 665 pages.

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman. Scribner (January 9, 2006) 432 pages. From 1866 through 1969, the Hawaiian and American governments banished nearly 9,000 leprosy sufferers into exile on a peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Tayman's multilayered account sketches in scientific details, such as the fact that later medical studies proved that most of the exiles weren't even contagious.

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