The evolution of Mission House architecture illustrates the progressive adaptation of missionaries from
New England to the climate, culture, and building materials they encountered in the
Sandwich Islands. The houses are supposedly haunted.
Oldest Frame House The materials to build the Oldest Frame House (Ka Hale Lāau 'the wood house') arrived by ship around
Cape Horn from
Boston in 1821. They had already been measured and cut, ready to assemble into a frame house suitable for the climate of New England: with small windows to help keep the heat inside and short eaves so as not to risk cracking under a load of snow. Though principally occupied by the seven members of Daniel Chamberlain's family, it often housed as many as five other missionary families, along with occasional ailing sailors or orphans. The small parlor served as a schoolhouse, and the basement served as the dining hall. The cookhouse was a separate building. Among other exhibits in this structure is an authentic replica of Dr. Gerrit Judd's 1830's medical clinic. The office contains original furniture and objects, with many painstakingly researched and recreated items.
Chamberlain House The
Chamberlain House (Ka Hale Kamalani) was built in 1831 from materials procured locally: coral blocks cut from reefs offshore and lumber salvaged from ships. Designed by the mission's quartermaster,
Levi Chamberlain, to hold supplies as well as people, it had two stories, an
attic, and a
cellar. The windows are larger, more numerous, and shuttered against the sun. The building now serves as the main exhibition hall for the Museum.
Print House In 1841, a covered porch and balcony were added to the frame house, and an extra bedroom was built next door out of coral blocks. Both additions show further adaptation to an indoor-outdoor lifestyle appropriate to the climate.
Site grounds The sites include the Kahua Ho'okipa outdoor stage, built from "coral blocks salvaged from the first courthouse in Hawaii, built in 1852." HMH schedules programming on historic cultural activities held on the stage. ==Gallery==