Parker Ranch

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Parker Ranch grazing lands.

Parker Ranch is a working cattle ranch on the Island of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. It is now a charitable trust. The ranch was founded in 1847 and is one of the oldest ranches in the United States, pre-dating many mainland ranches in Texas and other southwestern states by more than 30 years. Spreading approximately 150,000 acres (610 km²) of the island, Parker Ranch is also one of the country’s largest cattle ranches.

A cowboy on the ranch is called a paniolo (Hawaiian pronunciation of Spanish: Espanol), since the first cowboys were Spanish-speaking and came from California. The Hawaiian language does not have the sound and the letter "s".

During World War II, it was used as a United States Marine Corps training base.

The founder of the Ranch was John Palmer Parker who assisted Kamehameha I in riding the island of it wild bulls and was granted land which he later established the ranch with. The last owner of the Ranch, the actor Richard Smart, died in 1992, after which the Ranch is governed by the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust.