Official Name: | Waiʻōhinu, Hawaii |
Native Name: | Waiʻōhinu |
Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
Pushpin Map: | USA Hawaii |
Pushpin Label: | Waiʻōhinu |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Hawaii |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Hawaiʻi |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Area Footnotes: | [1] |
Area Total Km2: | 3.46 |
Area Land Km2: | 3.46 |
Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.34 |
Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.34 |
Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Total: | 198 |
Population Density Km2: | 57.23 |
Population Density Sq Mi: | 148.20 |
Timezone: | Hawaiʻi-Aleutian |
Utc Offset: | -10 |
Coordinates: | 19.0675°N -155.6114°W |
Elevation Ft: | 1055 |
Area Code: | 808 |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank Info: | 15-79550 |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank1 Info: | 0364822 |
Waiʻōhinu (Hawaiian: Wai{{okina; translation: "Shiny Water") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the district of Kaʻu on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. Waiʻōhinu is the name of the community as well as the ahupua'a, Native Hawaiian subdivision.[2] As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 198.
As of the 2020 American Community Survey, Waiʻōhinu had a population of 220 residents, of whom 50 were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, 39 were Asian, 31 were white, and 100 were two or more races. 21 residents were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[3]
Waiʻōhinu is at the far southern tip of the island of Hawaiʻi, on Hawaiʻi Route 11, which is part of the Hawaiʻi Belt Road. It is southeast of Kailua-Kona and southwest of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Waiohinu's ZIP code is 96772, which it shares with the nearby community of Nāʻālehu.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Waiʻōhinu CDP has an area of 3.5sqkm, all of it land.[4]
Mark Twain visited Waiʻōhinu in 1866 and, legend has it, planted a monkey pod tree (Albizia saman) here. The tree blew down in 1957, but a shoot from it was replanted, and remains growing there today.
Kauahaʻao Church was built in 1888 by Calvinist missionaries in Waiʻōhinu. The historic wooden church building was demolished in April 1998 because of extensive termite damage.[5]
Wong Yuen Store was built in 1914 by Chinese immigrant Wong Yuen. It is currently the only store in operation in Waiʻōhinu.
Wong Yuen Store, in Waiohinu, closed on April 1, 2018. The largest employer in Waiohinu is now Pacific Quest, employing over 100.