POST OFFICE IN PARADISE - Town Postmarks: Island of Oahu

This page last updated: 9 June 2004

::: TOWN POSTMARKS - Island of Oahu :::

Map of Oahu from the Wilkes Expedition.

Oahu is home to the city of Honolulu, which tends to eclipse the view of other towns. This page is dedicated to those other towns. Post marks used at the Honolulu Post Office are found at Honolulu Postmarks. Honolulu is located along the south shore of Oahu and was the hub of all mail service on the island. For the overland routes used on Oahu, see Routes and Post Offices under Local and Inter-island Mail.

POST OFFICES

Post offices at outlying towns on the island were opened starting in 1856 when offices were opened in the towns of Ewa, Hauula, Kahuku, Kaneohe and Waialua. This start was an ambitious effort to blanket the island with post offices at key places. However, in the economic depression years of the 1860's and early 1870's, all but one of these offices were closed: Ewa (closed 1871), Hauula (closed 1861), Kahuku (closed 1861) and Kaneohe (closed 1867). During the period 1865 to 1879, offices were opened and closed at: Kahaluu (1865-1867), Kualoa (1865) and Laie (1878-1879). Thus, in 1880, Waialua was the only post office on the entire island outside Honolulu. When sugar planting brought better economic times, offices were re-opened or opened at Kanehoe and Waikane (1881 – but Waikane closed from 1885 to 1889), Waianae (1882), Punaluu (1883), Waiahole (1884 - but closed in 1889 and moved to Waikane, keeping the Waiahole name for some purposes), and Laie and Ewa (1889). Thus at the close of the 1880's, outer Oahu had seven post ofices: Ewa, Kaneohe, Laie, Punaluu, Waialua, Waianae and Waikane/Waiahole. Postal agencies in other towns also existed. During the 1890's, there were no post office closings and additional post offices were opened at Honouliuli and Kahuku (1890), Heeia (1891), Peninsula and Waipahu (1897) and Aiea, Hauula, Wahiawa, Wailalua Plantation and Waimanalo (1899). In 1900, Seventeen post offices outside Honolulu were operating on Oahu.

POSTMARKS

A UX1 post card sent from Waiahole on June 5, 1889. This card, missing an adhesive 1¢ stamp, bears the rare Waiahole postmark type 282.023 and is the only recorded use on cover.

Oahu postmarks outside Honolulu are uncommon, at best, with about three exceptions. Some, such as the Waiohole postmark shown above, are in the highest order of rarity. Earliest appearance of postmarks in the outer offices on Oahu was in 1882. Three marks were put in use that year, judging from their EKU's: Waialua type 282.013 (April, 1882), Kaneohe type 282.01 (September, 1882) and Waianae type 282.016 (October, 1882). During the ensuing years up to 1900, I count twenty-eight postmarks used at one time or another, including two manuscript marks (Kaaawa and Waialua) and one tentative mark (Hauula 272.02). De-listed and not included are Waimanalo type 281.013 reported by Davey but never confirmed in over fifty years and Waiahole type 281.01, mistakenly listed based on a partial strike of Waiahole type 282.023. Of the handstamp marks, ten are in the rarity 1 category. The commonest marks, with an estimated rating of 7, are Honouliuli types 253.02 and 281.02 and Waianae type 282.016. All others are less common with only eight of the twenty-six hand stamps being in the "Estimated" category and all others being "Scarce" or "Rare."

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