The
American missionaries Asa Thurston, Artemis Bishop, Joseph Goodrich and English missionary
William Ellis toured the island in 1823 and planned to establish a network of several posts. The first two were
Mokuaikaua Church in the
Kona District (western coast), and this one on the east side. On May 19, 1824, a simple grass hut was dedicated as the first church of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions with Joseph Goodrich as preacher and Samuel Ruggles as teacher. The Hawaiian village at the time was called
Waiākea, in the district called
Hilo. The name of the village came from
wai ākea in the
Hawaiian language meaning "broad waters", and was located in what is now the southeast part of the city of Hilo. In December 1824, Goodrich met
Chiefess Kapiolani at the
Kīlauea volcano, for a dramatic demonstration that the new faith was acceptable. In June 1825 arrived, and Goodrich guided a party to the summit of
Mauna Kea. In 1825, a larger grass structure was built on present-day
Kalakaua Park. Goodrich brought some
coffee trees here some time after 1825, and Samuel Ruggles brought some to the other side of the island (the first
Kona coffee) in 1828 when he was transferred to the
Kealakekua Church. In 1835, Rev.
Titus Coan and his wife Fidelia arrived. He learned the Hawaiian language, so he could travel through the districts of
Puna and
Kaū to the south, gathering converts. His writings describe avoiding the perils of the dense
tropical rainforests, and observations of the Kīlauea volcano. ==Later buildings==