Name/Title
Bill of Sale "Waimanalo Steamboat"Description
Bill of Sale of the Steamboat "Waimanalo" from the Waimanalo Sugar Co. of Honolulu, sold to H. A Widemann on Jan 22, 1887.
Thomas Cummins’ son, John, was fifteen years old when his father started the ranch. Being half Hawaiian, John attended the Royal School, founded in 1839 by Kamehameha III for the children of Ali`i. After attending the Royal School, Cummins worked on his father’s ranch in Waimanalo, becoming manager in 1855, a position he held for some time. In 1873, John was elected by popular vote as a Representative of his Ko`olau District. He also assisted Kalakaua in effecting the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 with the United States, making sugar production profitable in the Hawaiian Islands. The ranch was operational until 1878 when Thomas Cummins decided to lease additional lands in Waimanalo and incorporate the Waimanalo Sugar Mill and Plantation Company.
In the 1870s, Waimānalo Sugar Company built a 700-foot pier, Waimānalo Landing (near what is now the intersection of Huli Street and Kalaniana’ole Highway,) to use to transport the sugar, as well as serve as a landing for inter-island steamers (it was dismantled in the early 1950s.)
The 86-foot ocean steamer “SS Waimānalo” (later renamed “SS John A. Cummins” or “Kaena”) owned by John Adams Cummins of the Waimanalo Sugar Plantation Company, made trips twice a week between stops in Koʻolaupoko (Heʻeia and Waimānalo) and Honolulu, exporting sugar and returning with supplies and goods.
Golden Oak Online Auction #79, Lot 611, June 28, 2025.Created By
hawaiiancovers@gmail.comCreate Date
July 9, 2025Update Date
August 17, 2025
![For reference only: Alexander J. (Joy) Cartwright
Cartwright served as fire chief of Honolulu from 1850 through June 30, 1863.[16] He was an advisor to King David Kalākaua and Queen Emma. Cartwright died on July 12, 1892, six months before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/10756/c6be19a0-5d1c-11f0-b57b-47b400b8c727-vW1mNVJ.lg@2x.jpg)