Painting of the god, Maui, at Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, Pu'unene, Central Maui.

Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum


This homespun museum occupies the former residence of the sugar mill’s superintendent. There’s the usual display of industrial machinery, including a working model of a cane-crushing plant, but what lingers afterward is the human story. One exhibit traces how the sons of missionaries took control of Maui’s fertile valleys and dug the amazing irrigation system that made large-scale plantations viable.

Compelling B&W photographs illuminate the labor and recreational aspects of plantation life. On display is an early-20th-century labor contract from the Japanese Emigration Company; it committed laborers to work the cane fields 10 hours a day, 26 days a month, for $15.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

2. Kanaha Pond Bird Sanctuary

1.31 MILES

You wouldn’t expect a wildlife sanctuary to be so close to the main road, but a short walk leaves the traffic behind. This shallow marsh is a haven for…

3. Kanaha Beach Park

2.29 MILES

Well, you can’t judge a beach by its cover. Wedged between downtown Kahului and the airport, and hidden behind a strip of ironwood trees, this mile-long…

4. Schaefer International Gallery

2.3 MILES

This art gallery at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center has a number of exhibitions per year, ranging from native Hawaiian arts to contemporary local artists…

5. Kahului Harbor

2.42 MILES

Kahului’s large protected harbor is the island’s only deep-water port, so all boat traffic, from cruise ships to cargo vessels, docks here. But it’s not…

6. Maui Nui Botanical Gardens

2.58 MILES

For botanophiles interested in native Hawaiian plants, this garden on the grounds of a former zoo has a wealth of knowledge. An excellent new audiotour (…

7. Wailuku Public Library

3.39 MILES

Designed by Maui-born architect CW Dickey and completed in 1928, the Wailuku Public Library building displays a now-distinctive regional design. Note…