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History · Volcano

Volcano’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold only 7 old photos of Volcano. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

7old images & papers
7need a date
From Volcano’s archive · credits on each photo

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Volcano, or Volcano Village, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States located in the District of Puna with a small portion of the CDP in the District of Kaʻū. As of the 2020 census, Volcano had a population of 736.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,575 to 736 (-71%). Half of its homes were built before 1994.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Volcano yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Volcano’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Volcano’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo7 archive items have no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewHawaii Volcanoes National Park Ro…: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Volcano

See all 1 →
GHGarrett HongoScience & Medicine
By decade

Volcano, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Date
unknown7 items
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park RoadsLOCDate?Hawaii Volcanoes National Park RoadsHawaii Volcanoes National Park Water Collection System, Hawaii Volcanoes National ParkLOCDate?Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Water Collection System, Haw…Hilina Pali RoadLOCDate?Hilina Pali RoadMauna Loa RoadLOCDate?Mauna Loa RoadCrater Rim DriveLOCDate?Crater Rim DriveChain of Craters RoadLOCDate?Chain of Craters RoadNamakani Paio Campground, Highway 11LOCDate?Namakani Paio Campground, Highway 11
Today17 photos
Kilauea Lodge Volcano Hawaii 2021CommonsKilauea Lodge Volcano Hawaii 20212021Volcano, Hawaii Near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National ParkCommonsVolcano, Hawaii Near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park2010Starr 040220-0331 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0331 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 040220-0327 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0327 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 040220-0326 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0326 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 040220-0321 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0321 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 040220-0320 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0320 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 040220-0319 Tibouchina urvilleanaCommonsStarr 040220-0319 Tibouchina urvilleana2004Starr 020719-0040 Ligustrum sinenseCommonsStarr 020719-0040 Ligustrum sinense2002Starr 020719-0039 Ligustrum sinenseCommonsStarr 020719-0039 Ligustrum sinense2002Starr 020719-0036 Ligustrum ovalifoliumCommonsStarr 020719-0036 Ligustrum ovalifolium2002Pseudonestor xanthophrysCommonsPseudonestor xanthophrysc. 2002Oreomystis manaCommonsOreomystis manac. 2002Myadestes palmeriCommonsMyadestes palmeric. 2002Myadestes palmeri (cropped)CommonsMyadestes palmeri (cropped)c. 2002Chasiempis sandwichensis ridgwayiCommonsChasiempis sandwichensis ridgwayic. 2002Branta sandvicensis Volcano Winery Big IslandCommonsBranta sandvicensis Volcano Winery Big Islandc. 2002
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Volcano is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Volcano has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Mauna Loa Road in Volcano Golf Course, 3.9 miles away.

Volcano and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Volcano. Tap a dot.
Mauna Loa RoadOld Volcano House No. 42Whitney Seismograph Vault No. 29Kilauea CraterHilina Pali Road1790 Footprints

Closest to Volcano

Mauna Loa RoadVolcano Golf Course · District3.9miOld Volcano House No. 42Volcano Golf Course · Built 18774miWhitney Seismograph Vault No. 29Volcano Golf Course · Built 19124.1miKilauea CraterVolcano Golf Course · Site5miHilina Pali RoadMauna Loa Estates · District7.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Mauna Loa Road’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Volcano?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Volcano’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Roads and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

From Wikimedia Commons (17) and the Library of Congress (7). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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