About Grove Farm
Waioli Corporation
Waioli Corporation celebrates and shares the rich diverse multicultural history of Kauai by authentically preserving numerous historic sites and collections around the island. Made available to be enjoyed by the local community and visitors through guided tours and educational research are the Waioli Mission House and Mahamoku museums in Hanalei, the Grove Farm museum in Lihue, and in their original roundhouse in Puhi, the largest collection of operating Kauai sugar plantation steam locomotives. The three museum sites and four plantation steam locomotives are listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
PRESERVING THE LEGACY
Also protected by Waioli Corporation are the still farmed ancient pre-contact taro fields and auwai systems of the Waioli Valley. In addition, Waioli Corporation has provided for a community, park in Hanalei, as well as easements and beach access at various locations under its protection.
Preserved by Misses Elsie and Mabel Wilcox throughout their lifetimes, in 1975 these historic sites and extensive unique collections were entrusted to Waioli Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose Board of Trustees is made up of community members. Community and visitor participation and financial support are essential to continue their legacy.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our kuleana is to preserve Grove Farm and Waioli Mission House museums, and other important properties, buildings, and collections, and to share authentic educational experiences through stories about the people, collections, and diverse properties that bring life to Kauai’s rich history and culture.
2022 – 2023 Board of Trustees
PRESIDENT
Mr. Samuel W. Pratt
SECRETARY
Ms. Patsy Sheehan
TREASURER
Mr. Gaylord H. Wilcox
TRUSTEES
Ms. Carrie Jackson
Ms. Nancy Mee
Mr. Mark Polivka
Mrs. Wayne Richardson III (Kathy)
Mr. Richard Sloggett III
Mr. Albert Spencer
2023 Museums’ Staffs
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Taliaferro Jones – director@grovefarm.org
CURATOR
Moises Madayag
SECRETARY
Julie McLeod
SITE MANAGER
Harold Rosa
GROUNDS SUPERVISOR
Sam Maehata
TOUR COORDINATOR AND OFFICE ASSISTANT
Maile Kennedy
WAIOLI MISSION HOUSE
CARETAKERS/GUIDES
Barbara Kennedy
Roger Kennedy
GARDENERS
Kalani Mendonca
GROVE FARM
HOUSEKEEPERS
Connie Amorin
Sandie Rosa-Maehata
COOK
Paula Rosa
LAUNDRESS
– – – –
GARDENERS
Stanley Amorin
Oscar Gano
Kahanu Maehata
CARPENTERS
Devin Lopes
Patrick Salling
Michael Schlegel
LOCOMOTIVES
Scott Johnson
Ryan Frost
GUIDES
Lorie Davey
Kate Catron
Barbara Filippone
Frank Filippone
Mary Kay Hertog
Amanda Kaufmann
Ramona Kincaid
Ian Letreta
Jackie Manibusan
Marlene Morimoto
Eric Nordmeier
Bill Null
Carol Pratt
Christine Sanguinetti
Mershie Shaw
Bill Skelton
Yosi Solove
Mary Beth Terheggen
Waioli Corporation Preserves
WAIOLI MISSION HOUSE
In Hanalei, the 1836 Waioli Mission House built by the Reverend W.P. Alexander, was home for missionary teachers Abner and Lucy Wilcox and their seven sons. For 50 years after Abner and Lucy’s deaths in 1869, the old mission home sat empty until it was restored in 1921 by their granddaughters Etta, Elsie and Mabel Wilcox. The mission house today continues as a quiet touchstone to the missionary efforts on Kauai, with guided tours offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
MAHAMOKU
Mahamoku, a second museum in Hanalei, was built in 1914 and is the last surviving twentieth century intact beach house along Hanalei Bay. Tours of the house are available to the public, school groups, and other special groups. In addition to visitors learning from and enjoying the historic interiors, Mahamoku serves as an exhibit pavilion for special educational exhibits from the extensive collections of Waioli Mission House and Grove Farm. It also provides a unique extended museum experience that gives visitors personal knowledge of the pace and lifestyle of that bygone era.
Mahamoku is the one true reflection of the aesthetic and personality of Mabel Wilcox and typical of beach architecture of that time. She once said that had she not become a nurse, she would have become an architect. Mahamoku, its caretaker’s quarters, and its landscape survive as one of Miss Mabel’s most noteworthy endeavors and have been preserved as she designed and furnished them nearly one hundred years ago.
Museum Observed Holidays
Grove Farm museum will be closed in 2023 on the following days:
Monday, January 2 (for New Year’s Day)
Tuesday, January 3 (Jack Hall Day)
Friday, April 7 (Good Friday)
Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day)
Tuesday, July 4 (Independence Day)
Monday, September 4 (Labor Day)
Thursday, November 23 (Thanksgiving)
Friday, November 24 (Day After Thanksgiving)
Friday, December 22 (for Christmas Eve)
Monday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
Friday, December 29 (for New Year’s Eve)
Contact the Museum
Waioli Corporation
Telephone: (808) 245-3202
Fax: (808) 245-7988
Email: secretary@grovefarm.org
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 1631, Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii 96766
Visit and Enjoy Grove Farm
Grove Farm Museum is available to the public for tours and community events. We welcome your inquiries.
Tour Hours & Reservations Educators & Class Tours Directions, Map & Parking Contact Us
Mabel Wilcox
Faced with the prospect of these properties and histories being lost, sisters Mabel, Elsie and Etta Wilcox worked hard to preserve them for future generations. Miss Mabel, the last to survive of the three, guided their legacy to be carried on by Waioli Corporation.