Frommer's Review
This well-organized museum is housed in the historic Greenwell Store, built in 1875 by Henry Nicholas Greenwell out of native stone. Antiques, artifacts, and photos tell the story of this fabled coast. The museum is filled with items that were common to everyday life here when coffee growing and cattle raising were the main industries. Stocked with accurate reproductions of goods that filled the shelves and hung from the ceiling joists, the store will offer a glimpse of the past, complete with storekeepers, dressed in period costumes, offering visitors St. Jacobs Oil to cure your arthritis or rheumatism. Before you leave, the shopkeeper may share some gossip about local people and events. The Historical Society has another project in the works: the Kona Heritage Ranch, an outdoor museum on the daily life of a rancher in 1890, which will be located next door to the Greenwell Store. As part of the project, the Kona Historical Society has created a replica of an 1890 Portuguese Stone Oven, the first of several structures and programs planned for the Kona Heritage Ranch. Portuguese from the Azores or Madeira started coming to Kona in the 1870s to help develop and manage dairies, a key phase of the ranching industry in Hawaii. The outdoor hive-type oven, made with cemented stone, was a constant presence wherever the Portuguese dairymen (and sugar industry workers) settled. They brought with them both their knowledge of dairying on tropical islands and their love of freshly baked stone-oven bread. An informal group gathers every Thursday to learn about wood-fired baking techniques. Coming is a $1-million visitor center to be completed by the end of 2008. Serious history buffs should sign up for one of the museum's walking tours.
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