August 20, 1824 – School for Commoners

Missionaries, after arriving in 1820, quickly began teaching reading and writing. Instruction was initially in English, and limited to only the ali‘i, under orders of Liholiho. At each new mission station, one-on-one instruction and small schools were established. Individual ali‘i often selected their preferred teachers. Lucy Thurston noted in her diary that Kalanimoku, “the great warrior … passed by educated men and chose little Daniel Chamberlain, five years old, to be his teacher in learning the English alphabet.”¹ It wasn’t until 1824, that the ali‘i determined the whole population should be educated. Betsey Stockton, a formerly enslaved person who arrived with the second company of missionaries, is credited with starting the first school for commoners in Lahaina, initially for 30 farmers. The location is believed to be the eventual site of Lahainaluna Seminary.