Greenwell Store, Historical store museum in Kealakekua, Hawaii, US.
The Greenwell Store is a historic commercial building in Kealakekua constructed from stone with a basement, main floor, and attic level. The structure displays its original construction methods and thick stone walls that have been carefully restored over the years.
Henry Nicholas Greenwell, an English merchant who reached Hawaii in 1850, had a stone store built on this site from 1870. Because he served as postmaster, the settlement that grew around it took the name Kealakekua. The Kona Historical Society, founded in 1976 by descendants Norman Leonard and Jean Greenwell, restored the store to its circa-1875 appearance and opened it as a museum.
The store's name comes from Henry Nicholas Greenwell, the English merchant who built it in 1870. Because he also served as postmaster, the settlement that grew around the shop took the name Kealakekua, though the traditional land division of that name lies further south. The Kona Historical Society, founded in 1976 by descendants Norman Leonard and Jean Greenwell, restored the building to its circa-1875 appearance and runs it as a museum.
The Greenwell Store stands beside the Hawaii Belt Road, which runs past the building. The museum is operated by the Kona Historical Society, which also runs the nearby Kona Coffee Living History Farm. The stone structure has a basement, main floor and attic reached by interior stairs.
The town around the store took its name from Greenwell's role as postmaster: the settlement became known as Kealakekua even though the traditional land division of that name lies further south. The store joined the National Register on May 22, 1978, as site 78001017.
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