Waipahu is the name of an
artesian spring. In
Hawaiian, Waipahu is derived from
wai, meaning water, and
pahū, meaning "burst or explode"; combined,
Waipahu means "water forced up (as out of a spring)". The early
Native Hawaiians took pleasure in the cool and clear water gushing from the ground and named this spring Waipahu. Before the Western civilization set foot in Hawaii, the Hawaiians considered Waipahu to be the capital of
Oahu. Royalty in the
Kingdom of Hawaii would often gather and enjoy the fresh water from the spring Waipahu. The company's managers from 1897 to 1940 were August Ahrens (1897–1904), E.K. Bull (1904–1919), J.B. Thomson (1919–1923), E.W. Greene (1923–1937), and Hans L'Orange (1937–1956). In the early days of the plantation, each worker was assigned a number inscribed on a metal disc about the size of a silver dollar. The numbers 1 through 899 identified Japanese alien; 900 through 1400 were Japanese who were American citizens or Hawaii-born. The 2000 and 2100 series were Portuguese laborers, 2200 Spanish, 2300 Hawaiian, 2400 Puerto Rican, 3000 Chinese or Korean, 4000 and 5000 Filipino. The company imported laborers from many different countries including the Philippines, Japan, China, Portugal, and Norway. Very few laborers working for the Oahu Sugar Co. were Hawaiian. The majority of the company's first laborers were either Japanese or Chinese. Plantation workers lived by what was called The Plantation System. Field workers received an average monthly salary of $12.50. However, Filipino immigrants were paid less than the other laborers because they were the cheapest to import. The Filipinos, on average, made less than $10.00 a month. The Chinese generally were paid the most, with a monthly average of $15.00. In 1932, the Oahu Sugar Co. opened a continuation school, and allowed a half-day off from work once a week for workers to attend. Those who weren't available during the day could also attend evening courses. This was to give them a chance to better their knowledge for a better job. During the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) planes fired at the sugar mill in Waipahu, killing a
civilian and injuring seven others. Oahu Sugar Company shut down plantation operations after the 1995 harvest. Today, the park is primarily used for
baseball, and is the home field of
Hawaii Pacific University's men's baseball team, the Sea Warriors. It was the home field of the
Hawaii Winter Baseball teams the
North Shore Honu and
West Oahu CaneFires until 2008. In 1973, the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawai'i purchased opposite the Waipahu sugar mill to establish the Waipahu Cultural and Garden Park. The park is known today as the Hawai'i Plantation Village. Hawai'i Plantation Village is a
living history museum located in Waipahu. In 1997, the Governor of Hawaii,
Benjamin J. Cayetano, proclaimed the months of June 1997 through November 1997 to be Waipahu Centennial Celebration Months. Many activities and events were held to celebrate the Waipahu Centennial. Waipahu is the home to the
2008 Little League World Series champions from Waipi'o Little League. They defeated
Matamoros, Mexico 12–3 in the final game on August 24, 2008. On August 28, 2010, that same team won the U.S. championship of the Little League World Series, defeating the team from
Pearland, Texas, but lost to Edogawa Minami LL of
Tokyo on August 29, 2010, in the international championship. ==Geography==