Grove Farm Museum – Kauai – Hawaii
There are many reasons to visit the Grove Farm Museum on Kauai, Hawaii. Perhaps you are interested in the history of the sugarcane industry on this tropical island. Or, you are curious about the Wilcox family. You could be trying to escape the rain or filling the hours between check-out and a late night flight. Whatever the reason, Grove Farm Museum is a unique look at life on Kauai in the 19th and 20th century.
Sugar cane was the chief agricultural industry on Kauai for over 150 years. Acquired in 1864 by George N. Wilcox, the son of missionary teachers, Grove Farm is a beautifully preserved one hundred acre homestead in the center of Lihue that includes the original plantation main house, owner’s cottage, guest cottage, old office, as well as other resident and plantation workers’ housing camp. The ongoing active household and farm with its animals, gardens, banana patches and pastures, maintain the same cleaning and agricultural schedules and practices that were established in the 1870’s.
For more information about the history of Grove Farm and the Wilcox family, go to https://grovefarm.org/kauai-history/
TOUR HOURS
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
RESERVATIONS AND ADMISSION
To make reservations or for more information, please telephone (808) 245-3202 or email tours@grovefarm.org. An email reply will be sent to let you know if the tour time you requested is available. If you are interested in a last minute tour, it is highly recommended that you telephone.
There is a requested donation of $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for children 5 to 12 years. Tours are not given on most holidays and may be cancelled on rainy days. Because of the popularity of these tours, once a reservation has been made, if you need to cancel please call (808) 245-3202 as soon as possible.
DIRECTIONS AND LOCATION
4050 Nawiliwili Road, Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii 96766
Grove Farm is located on the western edge of Lihue, the central island community, on Nawiliwili Road between the Kukui Grove Shopping Center and Nawiliwili Harbor. Look for the GROVE FARM sign on the left side of Nawiliwili Road as you travel toward the harbor.
PARKING
As you turn off Nawiliwili Road into the Grove Farm entrance, the TO PARKING sign is immediately on your left, just over the old railroad tracks which lead you onto a gravel road to our parking lot.
ARRIVING FOR YOUR TOUR
After parking and locking your car, walk to the path cut into the grass hedge which will lead you to the Grove Farm front lawn. Please check in at the old Grove Farm office, which is the first building on your right.
Website: https://grovefarm.org/
Reviews from TripAdvisor:
You’ll learn more about the Wilcox family than about running of a sugar plantation, but the family was big movers and shakers on Kauai (in area of public health, for ex.) so it’s like a little history of Kauai tour. All the areas visited were like a time capsule. My tour guide did well, and you could tell she was interested in her subject. The stop for cookies and mint tea in the kitchen was a nice touch. And the gift shop was excellent. I did this tour and went to the Kauai Museum on a day when it was kinda rainy and not a beach day, and found them to be good activities for that kind of day.
Sandy, our volunteer docent was great, knowledgeable and very pleasant! Tour gave us a great insight as to how people lived back then, their history and homes. We also had mint tea and cookies in the kitchen with an explanation of how everything worked, as far as growing, cooking and serving their food. Highly recommend, home and grounds were stunning, was infinitely more interesting and worthwhile than my description, lol
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