Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....Campbell, James 1826 - April 21, 1900 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: J. Orr orr@hawaii.com August 28, 2009, 3:27 pm Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Published by Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ltd., Territory of Hawaii, 1925. Author: Edited by George F. Nellist JAMES CAMPBELL, A Builder of Old Hawaii. A notable figure in Hawaii during the last half of the 19th century, one of the outstanding leaders in the early development of the sugar industry, and a powerful personality in the days of the Monarchy, was the late James Campbell, one of the first men of European birth to achieve fortune in the Islands through promotion of their agricultural resources, a work which materially aided the advancement of Hawaii. Coming here at a time when the industrial development of Hawaii was in its infancy, Mr. Campbell had the foresight to appreciate the coming commercial importance of the Hawaiian Islands and he was one of the first men to realize the possibilities of the sugar industry. His ability to envisage the future of Hawaii, his persistent energy, courage and devotion to business brought him in a comparatively few years to a foremost place as a financial power and industrial builder. James Campbell, being of adventurous disposition, ran away from his home in Ireland in 1839, a friend smuggling him aboard a lumber vessel. He went first to New Brunswick, Canada, from there to New York, where he worked for two years with a brother who lived there. Tiring of this he went to New Bedford, Mass., and took passage aboard a whaling ship about to sail around the Horn to the Pacific. This ship was wrecked near a small island in the South Seas. A spar enabled Mr. Campbell to float to this island where he suddenly found himself facing the unpleasant fact that his lot was cast amongst savages and cannibals. They tied him to a tree and while they were busy discussing his apparent fate, Campbell noticed the chief of the tribe fingering a flintlock musket, which was broken and useless; he made signs that he could repair it and did so with the aid of a rusty barrel-hoop. The chief ordered him set free and he was forthwith adopted by the tribe. Watching his chance to escape, he drifted, a few months later, to a passing trading schooner which was about to put into the island for fresh supplies; the men aboard were glad to give assistance and in this way he finally reached Tahiti. He lived among the natives there for some time, and in a general uprising which followed between the Tahitians and the French, Campbell fought on the side of the Tahitians. After the natives were subdued, he left aboard a whaler which landed him in Lahaina. Becoming interested in the cultivation of sugar cane, and having accumulated some capital by building and repairing houses and ships, Mr. Campbell started a plantation at Lahaina in 1861, and for a time was in competition with King Kamehameha V, who was endeavoring to promote a sugar estate in that vicinity. The King’s lands later came into Campbell’s possession. Hard work brought success, and in the early 70’s, in partnership with the late Mr. Harry Turton, Mr. Campbell founded the Pioneer Mill at Lahaina, the forerunner of the present great plantation operated by the Pioneer Mill Co. Mr. Campbell realized the value of land and constantly increased his holdings; he once owned the land where the present town of Lahaina now stands, his possessions giving him the name under which he was known to the Hawaiians, “Kimo ona- miliona” (James the Millionaire). Turton met with many business reverses; eventually the whole plantation came into Campbell’s hands and he became sole owner until he sold it to H. Hackfeld & Co. Removing to Honolulu, Mr. Campbell resided here for sometime and married Miss Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine in 1877. He returned later to Lahaina to resume for a brief period the managership of the Pioneer Mill Co. He next turned his attention to stock raising and bought for this purpose two ranches on Oahu; one at Kahuku, the other at Honouliuli, where the finest blooded stock was raised. These two ranches were leased to Mr. B. F. Dillingham of the Oahu Railroad & Land Co. in 1890 and sub-leased by him to the Ewa and Kahuku plantation companies for the cultivation of sugar cane. At a time when most of his contemporaries considered them worthless, Mr. Campbell acquired vast tracts of land in Honouliuli, district of Ewa, thousands of acres of which, enormously valuable and productive, are now under lease to Ewa Plantation, representing a part of the vast fortune which today is administered by the Estate of James Campbell. The two Campbell Blocks, one bounded by Fort and Merchant Sts., and the other containing the shops of the Liberty House, Wichman’s Hollister’s, Day’s, Curtis’, Detor’s and the Hub are part of the Estate’s holdings in the City. Mr. Campbell was also interested in the first telephone and electric light companies inaugurated in Hawaii. In 1879 Mr. Campbell bored the first flowing well of artesian water in Hawaii. This was done near his ranch house in Honouliuli, Ewa, and it was known to the Hawaiians as “Wai-aniani” (crystal waters). This well is still flowing. Mr. Campbell devoted much time in later years to traveling in Europe and America. He retired from active participation in business affairs in 1895. He figured in a sensational episode in San Francisco when he was kidnapped in 1896 and held for a $20,000 ransom by one Oliver Winthrop, who later went to San Quentin penitentiary to serve a life sentence for the crime. Mr. Campbell, of indomitable spirit despite his advanced age, defied his abductor, refused to meet his demands and although brutally mistreated managed to make his escape. Mr. Campbell conducted his affairs along the lines of the strictest integrity, the fact that with his numerous undertakings he never had a lawsuit in his life, indicated this. He was born of Scotch-Irish parentage at the Campbell home in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1826. He died in Honolulu on April 21, 1900, his remains being interred in the family plot at Nuuanu cemetery. He is survived by four daughters: Abigail Wahiikaahuula (the Princess David Kawananakoa), Alice (Mrs. Walter Macfarlane), Muriel (Mrs. Robert W. Shingle), and Mary Beatrice (Mrs. George C. Beckley). File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/bios/campbell10bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/hifiles/ File size: 6.8 Kb