Hilo, Hawaii

Around 1100 AD, the first Hilo inhabitants arrived, bringing with them Polynesian knowledge and traditions. Although archaeological evidence is scant, oral history has many references to people living in Hilo, along the Wailuku and Wailoa rivers during the time of ancient Hawaii.[5] Oral history gives the meaning of Hilo as "to twist".[6]

Originally, the name "Hilo" applied to a district encompassing much of the east coast of the island of Hawaiʻi, now divided into the District of South Hilo and the District of North Hilo. When William Ellis visited in 1823, the main settlement there was Waiākea on the south shore of Hilo Bay.[7] Missionaries came to the district in the early-to-middle 19th century, founding Haili Church.

Hilo expanded as sugar plantations in the surrounding area created jobs and drew in many workers from Asia. For example, by 1887, 26,000 Chinese workers worked in Hawai'i's sugar cane plantations,[8] one of which was the Hilo Sugar Mill. At that time, the Hilo Sugar Mill produced 3,500 tons of sugar annually.[9]

Hilo, Hawaii, 1907

A breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun in the first decade of the 20th century and completed in 1929. On April 1, 1946, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands created a 46-foot-high (14 m) tsunami that hit Hilo 4.9 hours later, killing 159 total in the islands,[10] with 96 deaths in Hilo alone. In response, an early warning system, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was established in 1949 to track these killer waves and provide warning. This tsunami also caused the end of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway, and instead the Hawaii Belt Road was built north of Hilo using some of the old railbed.[11]

On May 22, 1960, another tsunami, caused by a 9.5-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile that day, claimed 61 lives,[12] allegedly due to the failure of people to heed warning sirens. Low-lying bayfront areas of the city on Waiākea peninsula and along Hilo Bay, previously populated, were rededicated as parks and memorials.

Hilo expanded inland beginning in the 1960s. The downtown found a new role in the 1980s as the city's cultural center with several galleries and museums opening; the Palace Theater reopened in 1998 as an arthouse cinema.

Closure of the sugar plantations (including those in Hāmākua) during the 1990s hurt the local economy, coinciding with a general statewide slump.[13] Hilo in recent years has seen commercial and population growth.[14]

Hilo is on the eastern and windward side of the island.[15] It is classified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), and has a total area of 58.3 square miles (151.0 km²), 53.4 square miles (138.3 km²) of which is land and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) of which (8.4%) is water.[16]

As of the census of 2020, 44,186 people lived in 16,225 households in the census-designated place.[25] The population density was 796.7 inhabitants per square mile (307.6/km²). The 16,905 housing units reflected an average density of 311.3 per square mile (120.2/km²) in 2010 (No update on the Census for 2020).

The racial makeup was 32% Asian, 18.4% White, 10% Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander, 0.8% African American, 0.1% American Indian & Alaska Native, 0.6% from other races, and 38.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13% of the population.[23]

21.1% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.71.[23]

The age distribution was 21.1% under age 18, 4.5% under age 5, and 21.10% 65 or older. The percent of females are 51.1%.[23]

The median household income on the 2020 census was $70,356, and the per capita income was $34,678. 16.1% of the population is under the poverty line. [2]

Hilo is home to a number of educational institutions, including two post-secondary institutions, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, and the Hilo and Waiakea primary and secondary school districts. Charter schools in the area serve primary and secondary students.

Although sometimes called a city, Hilo is not an incorporated city, and does not have a municipal government. The entire island, which is between the slightly larger state of Connecticut and smaller Rhode Island in size, is under the jurisdiction of the County of Hawaiʻi, of which Hilo is the county seat.

Hilo is home to county, state, and federal offices.

The oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo's economy was historically based on the sugar plantations of its surrounding areas, prior to their closure in the 1990s.[13]

• East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center
• Lyman House Memorial Museum
• Merrie Monarch Festival
• Pacific Tsunami Museum

Hilo is served by KWXX (94.7FM Hilo/101.5FM Kona), B93/B97 (93.1FM Kona/97.1FM Hilo), The Wave (KHBC 92.7FM Hilo), and KPUA (970AM Hilo) radio stations.

Public Access television is provided through Nā Leo TV.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald, of Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press,[36] is Hilo's primary newspaper distribution company along with other newspapers like the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

• Tauranga, New Zealand
• La Serena, Chile

Asteroid (342431) Hilo is named after Hilo.[37]

(3) North Hilo and (2) South Hilo Districts are located in the east coast of Hawaii County (the Big Island). They are bordered by Hamakua District (4) in the north, and by Kau District (9) in the south and Puna District (1) in the southeast. The far inland areas are largely unpopulated, being forest reserves on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Hilo also referred to the District of Hilo when the Big Island was divided into six districts by the traditional moku land division. Hilo is now divided in two: North and South Hilo Districts.[38]

• Walter C. Dudley (2016). Tsunami!. Latitude 20. ISBN 978-0824859169.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hilo, Hawaii.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hilo.

• Pacific Tsunami Museum