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John Palmer Parker: The Sailor Who Founded Hawaii's Parker Ranch

A Massachusetts sailor who stayed in Hawaii turned feral cattle into a ranch that his descendants ran for four generations.

Who Was John Palmer Parker?

John Palmer Parker was born on May 1, 1790, in Newton, Massachusetts, according to the Wikipedia biography of Parker. The Paniolo Hall of Fame describes him as the son of a Massachusetts ship owner who reached Kawaihae in 1809 at age 19, serving as a captain's clerk on a merchant ship before he jumped ship and stayed.

He is remembered as the founder of Parker Ranch, which grew into one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States and a cornerstone of Hawaii's paniolo, or cowboy, tradition. The Hawaii Cattlemen's Council inducted him into the Paniolo Hall of Fame in 2001, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum added him to its Hall of Great Westerners in 2008.

Wild Cattle and a Royal Favor

The cattle Parker would work with arrived by gift. Wikipedia says Captain George Vancouver gave King Kamehameha one bull and five cows in 1793, and the Paniolo Hall of Fame page adds that by Parker's arrival the herd had multiplied into the thousands.

Parker came to the king's attention and was given important tasks. After a trip to China he returned in 1815 with a modern American musket. The Paniolo Hall of Fame page says Kamehameha favored him and allowed him to hunt wild cattle after the kapu, a traditional ban, was lifted for him. Parker traded beef, tallow and hides, and Wikipedia calls him the first man paid to shoot the feral herds.

Marriage, Kohala and the Move to Mana

In 1816 Parker married Chiefess Kipikane, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I. She took the Christian name Rachel. They had three children, Mary Ann Kaulalani, John Palmer Parker II and Ebenezer, and settled first on a small farm in the Kohala district.

In 1835 he began commercial cattle operations with Honolulu merchant William French, selling beef, hides and other products to whaling ships and overseas markets. Salted beef eventually replaced sandalwood as the island chain's main export, according to Wikipedia.

Building Parker Ranch

On January 8, 1847, Parker acquired land in the upland Mana area of Mauna Kea at about 3,500 feet, a place whose name means arid. He built the first homestead, Hale Mana, the Dry House. After the Great Mahele allowed private land ownership, he bought 640 acres in 1850 and another 1,000 acres in 1851, and he leased land from King Kamehameha III. The Parker Ranch history page confirms the lease. More land was added in Paauhau by 1861.

At Mana he shifted from hunting wild cattle to raising them in fenced paddocks, and he developed orchards and a dairy. The Hall of Great Westerners entry says he expanded the ranch to over 1,000 acres despite setbacks, including the death of his son Ebenezer in 1855 and a drought in 1856.

The Key to Parker's Success

Parker succeeded by moving at the right moments: first as a hunter with a musket, then as a trader with a merchant partner, and finally as a landowner when Hawaii's land system changed. Each stage also depended on relationships with Hawaiian leaders.

The costs belong in the record too. The ranch grew from land that had been communal and royal, and the Great Mahele changed who could own it. The sources I read do not detail how that affected Hawaiian tenants, and the dry upland carried drought risk, as 1856 showed.

  • He won the favor of Kamehameha I, whose permission opened access to the feral herds.
  • He married into Hawaiian aristocracy, and the Paniolo Hall of Fame notes that the ranching family line continues today.
  • He partnered with merchant William French in 1835 to turn hunted cattle into salted beef, hides and tallow for whaling ships.
  • He used the Great Mahele to buy and lease land, 640 acres in 1850 and 1,000 more in 1851, rather than staying a hunter on royal land.
  • He fenced paddocks and added orchards and a dairy, spreading risk beyond a single product.
  • He kept going through a drought and the loss of a son, and left a ranch his descendants could run.

After Parker: The Family Line

Parker's health declined in 1867 and he died on August 20, 1868, at age 78. He was buried in the family cemetery near Hale Mana. His son John Palmer Parker II took over operations and was appointed to the House of Nobles in 1873. After his death Alfred Wellington Carter became ranch manager, and Ebenezer's son Samuel Parker inherited the ranch at age 15 and became active in politics.

The Paniolo Hall of Fame says the ranch grew to cover more than 500,000 acres with a purebred herd of 30,000 Hereford, a figure from a much later era than Parker's own lifetime. It adds that Richard Smart, the last of Parker's descendants to run it, became sole heir at age 3 and sole owner at 20, died in 1992 and left the ranch in trust.

Visit or Learn More

Parker Ranch still operates on Hawaii Island, and the ranch's own history pages cover the Mana homestead and the later Parker family. For more on the paniolo tradition, see the ranching coverage at farm.FM, and for a related read try a farm.FM story about Hawaii ranch life.

Sources differ in places on dates and acreage, so check the Hall of Fame and ranch pages for the most current details.

Timeline

  1. 1790Born in Newton, Massachusetts
  2. c. 1809Arrives in Hawaii after leaving a merchant ship
  3. 1815Returns from China with a musket; begins hunting feral cattle
  4. 1816Marries Chiefess Kipikane
  5. 1835Begins commercial cattle trade with William French
  6. 1847Acquires upland land at Mana on Mauna Kea
  7. 1850Buys 640 acres after the Great Mahele
  8. 1851Buys another 1,000 acres
  9. 1868Dies on August 20

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Parker Ranch?

John Palmer Parker (1790 to 1868), a Massachusetts sailor who stayed in Hawaii around 1809, hunted wild cattle for Kamehameha and later built the ranch at Mana on Mauna Kea.

How did John Parker get started with cattle?

He returned from China in 1815 with a musket and was hired to control feral cattle descended from the herd Captain Vancouver gave Kamehameha in 1793.

What honors has John Palmer Parker received?

He was inducted into the Paniolo Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Hall of Great Westerners in 2008.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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