Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Kalaupapa

Historic Colony

Description

Officially established in 1980, this significant historic site remembers the area's storied past as a colony that housed people with Hansen's disease (leprosy). About 1000 people with this disease were forced into exile to this lonely strip of land from 1866 until 1969, and were cared for by a kind man named Father Damien (Joseph de Veuster), who spent the end of his life devoted to these "outcasts". Father Damien heard of the plight of the people who were forced to live here, and in 1873 left his home country of Belgium and went to live with and care for the lepers in the colony. He helped treat their disease, build schools, oversee farm work, and finally succumbed to the disease himself in 1889, after 16 years of selfless service. Today, visitors can take a tour of this storied settlement, where some people with Hansen's disease still live. Out of respect for those who still live here, visitors must obtain a permit from the Hawai'i State Department of Health, and no one under the age of 16 is allowed access.