Parker Ranch

John Palmer Parker I (1790-1868) arrived in Hawai’i as a sailor in 1809. At the time, cattle introduced by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, overran the island, demolishing forest land and trampling gardens. King Kamehameha gave Parker the job of controlling the cattle, preparing hides, and salting beef for sale to ships. Parker built the cattle business into what has become the second largest ranch in the United States.

The present ledgers and journals show details regarding a few pieces of this cattle empire, extending from the 1840s when Parker hired his first employees, through the organization of the newly acquired sheep station at Humuula 1900-1904,  to the improvement of the water supply and the laying of pipe in the 1920s.

1. Account Ledger for Livestock, Buildings, Tools, Furniture, Fences, Wages, Wool, Sundries, Labor. Humuula, Hawai’i: 1 August 1902 – 31 December 1904. Folio (13 7/8 x 8 ¼ in.; 352 x 210 mm.), 151 pp. written. Maroon three-quarter gold-ruled calf; some scuff marks. Humuula was a sheep station, developed by a German consortium of Hackfeld and Haneberg, and purchased by Samuel Parker in 1900.

2. Summary Account Ledger and Index, Expense Journal of Kaleieha Household, Keanakolu Station, Labor, Freight, Feed, Wagons & Teams, accounts of various clients such as G.J. Waller, H. Hackfeld & Co., and employee expenses. Humuula, Hawai’i:1902 – 1904. Folio (13 7/8 x 8 ¼ in.; 352 x 210 mm.), 168 pp. including a few blanks. Maroon three-quarter gold-ruled calf; some scuff marks. Volumes 1 and 2 together in a marbled boards slipcase. Kaleieha and Keanakolu were stations of the Humuula sheep farm.

3. Employee Expense Accounts including James Fay (one of Parker’s earliest employees), John Meek (appointed to the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society in 1850), Joaquin Armas (fl. 1809- 1848, one of the Mexican pioneers to Hawai’i who left at the end of the Mexican War), and his brother Felipe. Parker Ranch, Hawai’i: ca. 1840-1845. 145 pages; 6 leaves torn out, a few spots and stains. Contemporary three-quarter calf over blue papered boards, in a half-calf drop box.

4.-6. Miscellaneous Notebooks. Humuula, Hawai’i: 1909, 1928. 3 bound notebooks, 8vo (6 x 3 ½ in.; 152 x 90 mm.). 22; 11; 7 pages written. Notes and expenses regarding livestock population, pipeline lengths and guides for placement.

7. Journal of Construction Costs for houses, stables, fences, silos, cisterns and troughs. Makahalau, Hawaii:1912. 4to (9 ¼ x 7 ½ in.; 235 x 192 mm.), 15 pp. written, contemporary maroon three-quarter calf, in a marbled boards slipcase.