Bailey House Museum

The Bailey House Museum, also known as Old Bailey House, is a museum of Hawaiian history located in Wailuku, Hawaii, on the island of Maui, owned and operated by the Maui Historical Society.

The building

The house is situated at the mouth of the Iao Valley within the former royal compound of Kahekili II, last ruling chief of Maui. Built in 1833 and being one of the first western-style houses in Wailuku, the “Old Bailey House” is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Originally intended as a mission for adults and children, in 1837 the mission was transformed into the Wailuku Female Seminary, a boarding school that not only taught its students Christianity and academic pursuits, such as the three Rs, but also domestic skills such as sewing and housekeeping. First managed by Theodosia and Rev. Jonathan Smith Green, Edward and Caroline Bailey assumed responsibility in 1844 shortly after arriving in Hawaii.

Despite sponsorship by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the Seminary was closed in 1847, a victim of funding shortfalls. The house and land reverted to the Hawaiian crown but were purchased by the Baileys in 1850. Later, the house and the Baileys' sugar cane fields became part of the Wailuku Sugar Plantation, when then became part of C. Brewer & Co.

The Maui Historical Society was established in 1951,^[2] and the Bailey House Museum, at that time called Hale Ho`ike`ike (House of Display), opened on July 6, 1957.^[3] Masaru "Pundy" Yokouchi purchased the Bailey house in 1991 and donated it to the Maui Historical Society.^[4]

Exhibits

The Bailey House Museum contains a number of diverse exhibits. Exhibits on the lower floor include:^[4]

• A portion of the David Dwight Baldwin land snail shell collection. With the introduction of alien snails, many of the indigenous species endemic to Maui are now extinct.
• A model of the Hokulea, itself a modern-day replica of an ancient Polynesian-style sailing vessel.
• A wooden statue of the Hawaiian demi-god, Kamapua'a. Hidden in a cave for over a century, this is the only wooden statue on Maui to survive King Kamehameha II's 1819 purge of the indigenous religion.
• Oil paintings by Edward Bailey. Bailey was a Sunday painter whose work totals some 100 Maui landscapes.^[5]
• Pre-European contact artifacts including utensils, tools, and weapons.

The upstairs rooms have been furnished to appear as they would have in the early 19th century. A small outlying shelter displays not only Duke Kahanamoku's 1919 redwood surfboard, but the 33-foot (10 m) Honaunau, a 1900-era outrigger canoe used for fishing and carved from a single koa log. This vessel is one of the last koa fishing canoes made in Hawaii.:^[4] The gardens on the museum grounds display indigenous flora while a gift shop featuring locally made items is south of the house. The museum also houses a significant number of historical papers available to researchers.^[6]

The museum is open Monday through Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM.

Notes

References

• AskART, "Edward Bailey", accessed April 2008.
• Maui Historical Society, official website, accessed April 2008.
• Maui Historical Society (undated) "Welcome to Bailey House" (pamphlet).