West Maui Sugar Association And Olowalu Plantation 1864-1881
Sugar growing had been tried somewhat successfully on Maui
beginning in the 1820s. During this early period in the Lahaina
area, small planters sold or supplied cane to numerous mills on
a share basis. These early simple mills, run by either animal or
water power, existed primarily for the production of sugar
syrup. The ability of foreigners to buy land coincided with an
upsurge in demand for sugar from the Northern states in America
who no longer had access to the Southern sugar supply because of
the Civil War. As a result, two ventures began in the Lahaina
district in the early 1860s - a business partnership between
James C. Campbell and Henry Turton (later to be named Pioneer
Mill), and a joint stock venture, the Lahaina Sugar Company.
Although each operated a mill with cane produced by small
growers, as had been the previous practice, granulated sugar
replaced syrup as the object of manufacture. During this period,
King Kamehameha V, also known