The following is a continuation of an August 1978 article by Mr. Rick Edwards on the history of Hawaiian Paradise Park.
A foreman from the Shipman Ranch told me that the reason there are so many mango trees around the center part of the sub-division was that in the old days it was used for cattle grazing. Some of the cowhands when rounding up the cattle, would bring lunch. Quite often they would be carrying mangos they would throw out the seeds. Consequently, you have quite a few mango trees growing in that area.
Apparently this area of the sub-division prior to the last
lava flow (which was estimated to be over 400 years ago) was very
heavily forested. For instance, there have been tree forms found
in the area of the Stephen Hazzard residence as well as at the
end of Road 17 on the Hilo Boundary. You can find a form in the
front yard of Jimmie Brown on Road 7 where there is an impression
of a tree that has been burnt out. I am sure that Jimmie will
be happy to show it to you. In addition, along the ocean around
Lots 125 and 129, or approximately in that area, along the sea
coast you can find some impressions of fairly good sized trees
that have been burnt out. These are easy to spot because the salt
spray has left them open.
Also of historical significance is the Mamalahoa Highway that
King Kamehameha had built to completely go all the way around
the island. He was the first one that brought all of the districts
under one leader. It was crucial-in order to maintain control
there had to be good communication, therefore he had this highway
built all the way around the island. When I say highway, I mean
everything then was by foot, so they put round sea rocks over
the lava flows or other round rocks which were easier on the bare
feet and the people could make better time. On the makai side
of Beach Road running through the sub-division you can find good
examples of where this Mamalohoa Highway still exists.
Also it should be pointed out, that the road that everyone know
as Old Railroad is called that because at one time a railroad
went over this road alignment. In the very beginning, the only
means of communication was either by canoe along the coast or
along the Mamalohoa. I do know, from some of the old time Kalapana
Hawaiians, that they used to have pig roundups, and they would
drive the pigs to market in Hilo. They would follow along the
Mamalahoa, spending the night several times along the way, because
they couldn't make all that much time with so many pigs to be
concerned with. Then the TRAIN was put in from Hilo to Puna. One
spur went up into Pahoa; it was like a dagger into the forest.
I'm told this is how Pahoa got its name. (Pahoa means dagger).
The other spur went all the way around to Opihikao and almost
to Kalapana, and one branch of it went down to Kapoho to the rock
quarry. The bulk of the rocks for the Hilo breakwater came from
there and were shipped over that railroad to Hilo.
I am told that one of the first businesses in Pahoa was a lumber mill where they did logging of ohia trees. These were cut into square railroad ties that were shipped to Caiifornia, and a lot of the ties that exist to this day in the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads are ohia iogs which came from the Pahoa area.
Later on sugar began to expand so that a lot of the sugar cane
made its way on the train. About that time World War II came along,
there was more and more effort to go by truck, and from the 1946
tidal wave, which destroyed part of the track, the train started
to be phased out, and more and more trucking came into the picture
as the main means of transportation. Highway 13 or the Pahoa government
road as we know it today was one of the main routes. Things have
been swinging inland from originally being along the coast to
the railroad which is midway between the coast and Highway 13,
and now Highway 13. Now I see signs that perhaps the future may
swing back to having the bulk of the activity close to the ocean.
I don't know-time will tell on that. The reason I am mentioning
this about the railroad is when I first came here there was a
concrete platform on Lot 130 in Blk 6 with bamboo and orange amaryllis
plants This was the remains of a railroad station called Makuu
Station. Can you imagine, a train station there which served this
area, I know that some of the oldtimers who lived in Pahoa and
Kalapana areas used to go to school in Hilo. They rode the train
back and forth along with anything else that had to be shipped,
including sugar cane. Oddly enough you can see sugar can growing
here and there where some of it spilled off along the right-of-way
of the old railroad.
In the old days the Puna land was pretty much divided between two families--The Shipman's and the Lyman's. The Shipman "domain" extended from the Hilo boundary all the way to the Hawaiian Beaches and Parks area, which is where the Lyman family's interests began. Fortunately Mr. Shipman's father was very wise in legal matters. He went to the trouble of having the bulk of the land, which fell within his area of interest, registered with the land court which was the Torrance Land system. This is the best kind of land system there is. It means you can't even lose it to squatters rights, or adverse possession, without due cause, and thats why to this day we are fortunate enough to have all our lots recorded with the Hawaii State Land Court, as well as the Bureau of Conveyances. All the lots in this sub-division fall into that category, thanks to the foresight of Mr. Shipman in the old days.