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1932 Map of Hilo

Name: 1932 Topographic Map of Hilo
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1943
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1943

About this map

Hilo serves as the focal point of this coastal survey, where the Wailuku River meets Hilo Bay near the industrial waterfront of Wainaku Mill and Puneo. The landscape reveals a complex network of sugar production and transport, characterized by the extensive system of camps such as Camp Two through Camp Eight and the Olaa Plantation Mill. These workforce settlements are supported by infrastructure like the Hilo RR and its Puna Branch, which connected the coastal harbor to the inland Olaa Reservation Lots.

The island's volcanic activity is recorded through the Lava Flow of 1881, which cuts across the terrain above the Waiakea Stream. Evidence of early 20th-century aviation appears at the Hilo Air Port, while rural development is marked by the Twelvemile School and a string of roadside businesses like the Fourteen and one-half mile Store. The map illustrates a period when the sugar economy dictated the placement of post offices like Olaa PO and the numerous flume houses managing water across the Waiakea Forest Reserve.