This green expanse in the middle of Waik?k? is Fort DeRussy, named in honor of Brigadier General Rene E. DeRussy, Corps of Engineers, who

served with distinction in the American—British War of 1812. It was started in 1908

as vital American bastion of defense, but today it serves as a place of recreation and relaxation for U.S. military personnel and their families.

If you turn toward the

mountains, all the land

you see before you extending to the foothills of M?noa Valley was planted in taro for many centuries. But, as the number of Hawaiian farmers in Waik?k? died off and the demand for poi decreased, by the 1870’s taro production praotically ceased. Successful rice planting experiments led to a kind of “rice fever” which swept of the islands.

Chinese rice planters took over abandoned taro patches and turned Waik?k? into a vast rice plantation. For a few years, rice not sugar, was king in Hawai’i. The disappearance of taro from Waik?k? not only marked an economic change, but a cultural

change as well: Hawaiian mythology says the first

man was born of H?loa, the sacred taro plant. The

planting and eating of taro was for ancient Hawaiians the basis of their existence and their spiritual sustenance as well. When taro disappeared from Waik?k?, as it did from

so many areas, so did the

spirit of H?loa.

The coconut grove near this historical marker is the oldest and last of its kind in Waik?k? today.

Marker is at the intersection of Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalakaua Avenue and Pau Street, on the right when traveling west on Ala Moana Boulevard.

Courtesy hmdb.org

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