While it’s probably not what it wants to be known for, the town of Waipahu’s most famous resident is probably Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked large amounts of classified information from U.S. intelligence agencies. Of course, there is much more to Waipahu than just Edward Snowden. Waipahu is a central Oahu town which used to be the heart of the sugarcane plantation industry.
A natural spring gives the town its name. Waipahu means ‘fresh water bursting upward. The spring was so important that Waipahu, now mostly forgotten or unknown by the many tourists who visit Oahu, was once the capital of the island and of the Oahu Kingdom which proceeded the unification of Hawaii by King Kamehameha.
Waipahu became important to sugar in 1897 when the Oahu Sugar Company formed there. Workers from Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Norway and the Phillipines kept the mill going and the sugar growing. The history of the plantation and the plantation workers can be experienced and learned about at Hawaii’s Plantation Village – an often missed attraction located in Waipahu. It was established in 1973 and is a living history museum focused on that time and place.
Waipahu has about 40,000 residents today and includes several suburbs including Waikele where many visitors to Hawaii go to visit the outlet malls. Other suburbs are Waipio, Village Park, and Royal Kunia. The majority ethnic group in Wapahu is Filipino followed by Japanese and Chinese. Pacific Islander’s make up about 12% of the population, Caucasion and African-Americans maku up only about 5% of Waipahu’s population when combined. Waipahu has a growing Hispanic population at about 6%.
Waipahu has a notable Little League Baseball team which won the Little League World Series back in 2008.