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Parker Ranch: Hawaii Island's Cattle Ranch and Its Paniolo Heritage

From wild cattle given to Kamehameha to a trust-run ranch of about 130,000 acres, Parker Ranch is the heart of Hawaii's paniolo tradition.

How Did Parker Ranch Begin?

The ranch's story starts with cattle left to run wild. According to Tom Barefoot's history of the ranch, Captain George Vancouver brought five cows to Hawaii in 1788 and gave them to Kamehameha I, who declared them kapu, off limits. The herd grew into the thousands over the next twenty years. In 1809 John Palmer Parker jumped ship in Hawaii, and the king later allowed him to shoot wild cattle for meat and hides.

Parker married Chiefess Kipikane in 1816, and the king gave the couple two acres on the slopes of Mauna Kea. In 1850 Parker bought 640 acres, and in 1851 he bought another 1,000 and leased land at Waikoloa. The ranch is usually dated to 1847, but the sources I read trace Parker's cattle work much earlier.

Who Were the Paniolo?

Hawaiian cowboys are called paniolo. Barefoot reports that Kamehameha III brought Spanish-Mexican vaqueros from California to train Hawaiians in handling cattle, and Parker Ranch became the center of that tradition. The ranch still operates today as a working cattle ranch in Waimea.

Richard Smart and the Growth to 500,000 Acres

Richard Smart was born in 1913 to Thelma Parker, a great-granddaughter of John Palmer Parker, and Henry Gaillard Smart. His parents died in 1914, making him sole heir, according to the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust history. Alfred Wellington Carter, a Honolulu businessman and judge, was hired to manage the ranch in 1899 and mentored Smart. Over about two decades in the early 1900s the ranch grew past 500,000 acres.

Smart spent nearly thirty years on Broadway and in cabarets before moving back permanently in 1949 after Carter died. He restructured breeding and feeding, built the Parker Ranch Visitor Center and started employee programs in education, health and culture.

Camp Tarawa and the Land Sales

During World War II Smart leased land to the Marine Corps for Camp Tarawa, which housed about 50,000 Marines in Waimea, per Barefoot. Later he signed a 99-year lease on 500 acres at Waikoloa with Laurance Rockefeller, which spurred Kohala Coast resort development. He sold coastal Waikoloa land for resorts and other land for what is now Waikoloa Village. A long-range 2020 Plan set aside land for controlled growth while preserving Waimea's rural character.

The Key to Parker Ranch's Survival

Parker Ranch survived by selling and leasing land strategically and by moving the remainder into a charitable trust. Smart died in 1992 and left the ranch and his art collection in the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust, which supports Parker School, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, North Hawaii Community Hospital and the Richard Smart Fund.

  • Parker gained access to wild cattle through his relationship with the king and his marriage into the Kamehameha line.
  • Carter's 1899 management brought professional operation to the ranch.
  • Smart bred a purebred Hereford herd and reworked feeding practices.
  • Selling low-yield pastureland funded resort development and shrank the ranch from about 500,000 to 130,000 acres.
  • The 2020 Plan gave land use a long-term structure.
  • The trust turned a family estate into a community institution.

Smart, the 2020 Plan and the Trust Today

Smart's own career and the 2020 Plan are documented by the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust. Smart performed on Broadway and in cabarets including the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and the Lido in Paris, and he co-starred with Eve Arden and Carol Channing. In 1992 Hawaii County approved rezoning of more than 580 acres for commercial, industrial and residential use under the 2020 Plan. Earlier, in 1893, Parker's grandson Samuel, then Minister of Foreign Affairs to Queen Liliuokalani, helped negotiate a surrender to avoid bloodshed when she was deposed.

Visit or Learn More

Parker's homes Puuopelu and Mana Hale are open to visitors in Waimea. For more on cattle history, see the farm.FM ranching section and a farm.FM story about Parker Ranch and the paniolo.

Timeline

  1. 1788Vancouver gives five cows to Kamehameha I
  2. 1809John Palmer Parker arrives in Hawaii
  3. 1816Parker marries Chiefess Kipikane
  4. 1850Parker buys 640 acres; buys another 1,000 in 1851
  5. 1899Alfred Wellington Carter hired to manage the ranch
  6. 1913Richard Smart is born
  7. 1949Smart moves back to the ranch permanently
  8. 1992Smart dies and leaves the ranch in the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Parker Ranch?

John Palmer Parker, a sailor who jumped ship in Hawaii in 1809, founded it. He gained permission from King Kamehameha to hunt wild cattle and married into the royal family.

How big is Parker Ranch?

Today the ranch covers about 130,000 acres on Hawaii Island, down from over 500,000 acres at its peak under Richard Smart.

Who owns Parker Ranch now?

Richard Smart left the ranch in the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust when he died in 1992. The trust supports schools, a hospital and other community causes.

What is a paniolo?

A paniolo is a Hawaiian cowboy. The tradition grew after Spanish-Mexican vaqueros from California trained Hawaiians to handle cattle in the 1800s.

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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