Hidden in the history of Pearl Harbor, the most strategic port in Hawai'i, is the fact that when Western seafarers discovered it, a coral reef barred its entrance.
The huge lagoon had been a valuable resource for Native Hawaiians, who called it Pu'uloa and Waimomi. They built numerous fishponds in its sheltered waters to take advantage of the changing tides.
The nutrient-rich waters also yielding pearl-producing oysters, but the Hawaiians had no use for them. In time, foreigners renamed the lagoon Pearl Harbor — even as tons of runoff from cultivation of surrounding land killed off the oysters.
Although the U.S. Navy first sailed a schooner to the Islands in 1826, the port's military potential was not realized until the 1840s, when a young lieutenant suggested it offered "perfect security."
The United States secured exclusive rights to the harbor in 1887 but did not develop it until after annexation.
A victory in the Spanish-American War, in 1898, helped spur that development. Hawai'i achieved a new level of strategic importance during the war because of Spanish possessions in the Pacific, especially the Philippines with its potential for immigrant labor. Later U.S. possession of the Philippines provided easy access to Asia, turning Pearl Harbor into an important forward base for the American Navy.
In 1908, Congress approved creation of a naval station at Pearl Harbor. The Navy spent millions of dollars to dredge the channel entrance and to build dry docks and shoreside facilities, including a coaling station. In 1911, the new channel was opened when the warship USS California steamed into Pearl Harbor.
What followed was decades of improvements to the harbor — and a place in history.
