The day we drove to Waimea Canyon, we came across something rather peculiar. The ruins of the Russian Fort Elizabeth, which is now a State Historic Park.
The following information is from the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historic Park informational signs:
This fort was 1 of 3 that was built on Kauai between 1815 and 1817. The other forts are Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay and both were built near the mouth of the Hanalei River on the north shore. Fort Elizabeth, on the other hand was built 35 miles away on the opposite side of the island at the mouth of the Waimea River.
The forts were built under the command of Georg Anton Schaeffer, an agent with the Russian-American Company. He named Fort Elizabeth after Tsarina Elizabeth. The Russians made an alliance with Kauai's King Kamualii. The alliance allowed the Russians to build the forts and to secure a provisioning station in Hawaii for the Russian-American ships trading between the American Northwest and Asia across the Pacific Ocean. The Russians were forced to leave Kauai and abandon the forts in 1817. Hawaiian troops completed and occupied Fort Elizabeth from 1817 to 1864.
The fort was dismantled in 1864 by order of the Hawaiian government and the fort has since fallen into disrepair. The remnants of Russian Fort Elizabeth consist of the fort wall made of basalt boulders stacked over an earthen embankment and the foundations of the buildings that once existed inside the fort wall.
As I mentioned, the fort is in disrepair, so there isn't much to see. However, the remnants are still there, and if you follow the park's map, you can stand in the fort and understand where the barracks, blacksmith, ammunition store, officer cabins are located and more. The park is coated in red dirt and is in the dry part of the island, so it has a desert feel to it. If you are a Russophile such as myself, then you will find this park to be very interesting. I personally was shocked to hear that the Russians traveled all the way to Hawaii. My first thought was - wouldn't they melt??
This is the coastal view you get outside of the fort.
The following information is from the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historic Park informational signs:
This fort was 1 of 3 that was built on Kauai between 1815 and 1817. The other forts are Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay and both were built near the mouth of the Hanalei River on the north shore. Fort Elizabeth, on the other hand was built 35 miles away on the opposite side of the island at the mouth of the Waimea River.
The forts were built under the command of Georg Anton Schaeffer, an agent with the Russian-American Company. He named Fort Elizabeth after Tsarina Elizabeth. The Russians made an alliance with Kauai's King Kamualii. The alliance allowed the Russians to build the forts and to secure a provisioning station in Hawaii for the Russian-American ships trading between the American Northwest and Asia across the Pacific Ocean. The Russians were forced to leave Kauai and abandon the forts in 1817. Hawaiian troops completed and occupied Fort Elizabeth from 1817 to 1864.
The fort was dismantled in 1864 by order of the Hawaiian government and the fort has since fallen into disrepair. The remnants of Russian Fort Elizabeth consist of the fort wall made of basalt boulders stacked over an earthen embankment and the foundations of the buildings that once existed inside the fort wall.
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| Inside Fort Elizabeth |
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