Ford Island Historical Trail Shares Expansive History
May 20, 2020: The Ford Island Interpretive Trail completed in 2019, is comprised of 30 interpretive panels telling the history of Ford Island paired at 15 nodes along the historic trail. The Interpretive Trail was developed by Commander, Navy Region Hawaii to raise awareness and appreciation of the role that Ford Island and its surroundings played in Hawaiian culture and military history with the purpose of educating while communicating the importance of protecting cultural resources. The rich history spans from the pre-contact period through its use as agricultural land and by the military today. Ford Island, in the center of the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex, has been a National Historic Landmark since 1964. Originally known as Mokuʻumeʻume, the island is noted in history as the home of guardian shark gods and goddesses, oysters, and makahiki gatherings. Post-contact it was a prized source of pili grass used for roof thatching. Following the Great Māhele, the island was sold at auction and changed hands. The island was re-named Ford Island in honor of Dr. Seth Porter Ford, a noted medical doctor who serviced the Hawaiian Kingdom and used Pearl Harbor as a transit point to reach outlying residents in remote locations only accessible by small boat or horseback. During the latter 1800s, Ford Island produced livestock and agriculture for provisioning. Later, the land was used for sugar cane production. The island’s history includes its use by the U.S. Army Coastal Defenses and Air Corps until the founding of Hickam Air Force Base in the mid-1930s, and its pivotal role as part of the naval installation at the start of and during World War II. The interpretive panels, developed by MASON, illustrate this history through photos and [...]