LIVING IN OLD HAWAII
January 23rd, 2010In today's Wall Street Journal a wonderful article about Maui's Rice family and the ranchland they own.
Hundreds of years ago, Hawaiian kings would hand out to subordinate rulers thin slivers of land that stretched from volcano to sea. The system of rule via these plots, called ahupua'a, was abolished in the 19th century, and much of the land was split up and sold as the value of Hawaiian real estate skyrocketed. Henry Rice, a fifth-generation Hawaii native and banking dropout, lives with his wife Sandy on what real-estate agents and the Department of Land and Natural Resources say is one of the few nearly intact ahupua'a left in the islands: 10,000 acres of ranchland stretching continuously from the top of Mount Haleakala down towards the sunny beaches of Maui's south shore. Even though the Rices have sold off their beachfront lots over the years, appraisers say their ranch, named Ka'ono'ulu, is likely worth close to $50 million.
Where else but Maui do we get so lucky?






