LIHUE

city, seat of Kauai county, in southeastern Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is the island's chief port and its cultural and business centre. Sugarcane became the locality's economic mainstay with the foundation of the Lihue Sugar Plantation (1849) by German colonists. The Germans built a Lutheran church (1883), a fusion of classical New England architecture and Bavarian Baroque. The city is served by an airport to the northeast and the deepwater Nawiliwili Harbor, 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast. Lihue is equipped with a highly mechanized plant from which raw sugar is shipped to U.S. mainland refineries. In ancient times, Hawaiian chiefs would prove their courage by diving over the cliff at Wailua Falls, 5 miles (8 km) north. At nearby Niumalu, the Alakoko Fishpond was formed by a 900-foot (274-metre) stone wall at a bend in the Huleia Stream; the wall, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) above water level, was reputedly built by the legendary menehunes (little people), who supposedly accomplished great construction feats. Kauai Community College (1928) is in the city. Pop. (1990) 5,536.