Historic Places

Dive into the stories of Volcano Village through the buildings and places that shaped its unique character. From early homes and community spaces to schools and postal services, these historic sites illustrate how people lived, worked, and connected in the village over time.

Built in 1928, the Old Japanese School House is one of the last remaining one-room Japanese language schools in Hawaiʻi. It stands as a reminder of a time when immigrant families worked together to preserve language, culture, and a sense of belonging for their children in Volcano Village.

When it opened in 1928, there were almost 170 Japanese-language schools from Kauaʻi to Kona, started by families who wanted their children to learn traditional culture and language.

The school was founded by local residents who formed the Volcano House Japanese School House Association and raised funds with help from the wider community. Constructed on donated land along Kalanihonua Road, the modest wood-frame building served students of all ages, who gathered after public school to study Japanese language, writing, math, and customs together in a single room.

“It didn’t matter how old you were or what your skill level was, everyone was together,” said Meleana Manuel, who attended the school from the 2nd to 6th grade in the 1960s.

Beyond education, the school quickly became a community hub. Over the years it hosted weddings, parties, film screenings, church services, Boy Scout meetings, and dance classes. Additional residences for teachers were added in the 1930s, further rooting the site in daily village life.

The school’s story also reflects broader tensions in Hawaiʻi’s history. Japanese language schools faced increasing political pressure in the early 20th century, culminating in legal battles that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed parents’ rights to educate their children in their native language. That progress was abruptly halted in 1941, when the school was closed following the attack on Pearl Harbor and its principal, along with many others, was interned for the duration of the war.

In a 1983 interview, the principal’s wife Teruko Shiotani recalled how neighbors were terrified of being detained themselves and kept their distance from the school.

“People stayed away,” she remembered, noting that hers was the only family in Volcano taken in this way. Yet even in that climate of suspicion, there were small acts of kindness. One neighbor, Mr. Takaki, continued to offer rides into Hilo for errands—quiet gestures of support that stood out during a painful and uncertain time.

The school reopened in the 1950s, though enrollment gradually declined as families sought to assimilate into American culture. In later decades, the building continued to serve the community through arts programs and local gatherings. Today, the Old Japanese School House remains a cherished landmark—quiet, sturdy, and full of stories that reflect Volcano Village’s resilience, generosity, and multicultural roots.

Keakealani School was Volcano’s first public school and opened in 1915 to serve a growing number of families settling in the area. Located on land donated along Haunani Road by entrepreneur Peter Lee, the one-room school educated students from first through sixth grade and was named after one of his daughters.

As the community continued to grow, the school was expanded in 1934 into the two-room, wood-frame building that still stands today. Former students remember its simplicity: two teachers, multiple grades in each room, and a weekly visit from the bookmobile.

For decades, it was the only school for nearly 40 miles, educating generations of Volcano children until students were transferred to Mt. View Elementary in 1973.

The building’s role did not end there. For more than 25 years, it served as an outdoor education center for students from across Hawaiʻi Island. In 2010, the site was returned to community use and became part of the Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, which continues to grow today. The historic schoolhouse remains at the heart of plans to expand the campus into a full K–12 facility, carrying its legacy of learning into the future.

Built in 1928, the Old Japanese School House is one of the last remaining one-room Japanese language schools in Hawaiʻi. It stands as a reminder of a time when immigrant families worked together to preserve language, culture, and a sense of belonging for their children in Volcano Village.

The school was founded by local residents who formed the Volcano House Japanese School House Association and raised funds with help from the wider community. Constructed on donated land along Kalanihonua Road, the modest wood-frame building served students of all ages, who gathered after public school to study Japanese language, writing, math, and customs together in a single room.

“It didn’t matter how old you were or what your skill level was, everyone was together,” said Meleana Manuel, who attended the school from the 2nd to 6th grade in the 1960s.

Beyond education, the school quickly became a community hub. Over the years it hosted weddings, parties, film screenings, church services, Boy Scout meetings, and dance classes. Additional residences for teachers were added in the 1930s, further rooting the site in daily village life.

The school’s story also reflects broader tensions in Hawaiʻi’s history. Japanese language schools faced increasing political pressure in the early 20th century, culminating in legal battles that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed parents’ rights to educate their children in their native language. That progress was abruptly halted in 1941, when the school was closed following the attack on Pearl Harbor and its principal, along with many others, was interned for the duration of the war.

In a 1983 interview, the principal’s wife Teruko Shiotani recalled how neighbors were terrified of being detained themselves and kept their distance from the school. “People stayed away,” she remembered, noting that hers was the only family in Volcano taken in this way. Yet even in that climate of suspicion, there were small acts of kindness. One neighbor, Mr. Takaki, continued to offer rides into Hilo for errands—quiet gestures of support that stood out during a painful and uncertain time.

The school reopened in the 1950s, though enrollment gradually declined as families sought to assimilate into American culture. In later decades, the building continued to serve the community through arts programs and local gatherings. Today, the Old Japanese School House remains a cherished landmark, full of stories that reflect Volcano Village’s resilience and multicultural roots.

For much of Volcano’s early history, getting mail was as informal as village life itself. Letters arrived by ship, were carried up rugged trails, and eventually left at Volcano House, where residents stopped by not just for mail, but to see neighbors and share news—an early hint of the post office’s role as a social hub.

As transportation improved, regular mail service followed. By the late 1800s, stage routes carried letters from Hilo to Volcano, with mail sorted at the Volcano House hotel under the watch of its famed manager, George Lycurgus. Even into the mid-20th century, villagers still picked up mail from local stores, sometimes finding unclaimed letters tacked to a wall by day’s end.

Concerns about access to the National Park eventually spurred residents to push for a post office of their own. In 1953, Volcano’s first village post office opened next to the Hongo store, with longtime resident Kazu Okamoto (who was new to postal work but deeply committed to the community) serving as postmaster for the next 37 years. What began with just 16 mailboxes soon grew as the village expanded.

The modern Volcano Post Office opened in 1978 amid celebration, marked by a maile lei blessing and community ceremony. With hundreds of mailboxes and a welcoming wooden design, it remains what it has always been: a place to collect letters, greet friends, and catch up on the daily life of the village.

“After all, without the post office where would we get to see all our friends and neighbors and catch up on all the latest news and gossip every day?”

— Virginia Dicks, Volcano newspaper columnist