Waiʻōhinu, Hawaii

Waiʻōhinu (Hawaiian for "Shiny Water") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the district of Kaʻu on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. Waiʻōhinu is the name of the community as well as the ahupua'a, Native Hawaiian subdivision.^[2] As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 198.

Waiʻōhinu
Census-designated place
Mark Twain monkeypod tree
Waiʻōhinu
Coordinates: 19°4′3″N 155°36′41″W
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
County	Hawaiʻi
Area [1]
• Total	1.34 sq mi (3.46 km2)
• Land	1.34 sq mi (3.46 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	1,055 ft (322 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	198
• Density	148.20/sq mi (57.23/km2)
Time zone	UTC-10 (Hawaiʻi-Aleutian)
Area code	808
FIPS code	15-79550
GNIS feature ID	0364822

Demographics

As of the 2020 American Community Survey, Waiʻōhinu had a population of 220 residents, of whom 50 were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, 39 were Asian, 31 were white, and 100 were two or more races. 21 residents were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[3]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	198		—
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

Location

Waiʻōhinu is at the far southern tip of the island of Hawaiʻi, on Hawaiʻi Route 11, which is part of the Hawaiʻi Belt Road. It is 57 miles (92 km) southeast of Kailua-Kona and 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Waiohinu's ZIP code is 96772, which it shares with the nearby community of Nāʻālehu.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Waiʻōhinu CDP has an area of 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²), all of it land.^[5]

Landmarks

Mark Twain visited Waiʻōhinu in 1866 and, legend has it, planted a monkey pod tree (Albizia saman) here. The tree blew down in 1957, but a shoot from it was replanted, and remains growing there today.

Kauahaʻao Church was built in 1888 by Calvinist missionaries in Waiʻōhinu. The historic wooden church building was demolished in April 1998 because of extensive termite damage.^[6]

Wong Yuen Store was built in 1914 by Chinese immigrant Wong Yuen. It is currently the only store in operation in Waiʻōhinu.