Qualla: Kalawao County, Hawaii

Kalawao County, Hawaii: Introduction

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Djzanni at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump received one vote in Kalawao County, Hawaii. One. That was enough for third place, behind Hillary Clinton with 70 percent and Jill Stein with 25 percent, making it the Green Party's strongest county nationwide. Four years later, Joe Biden took 96 percent of the vote, his best showing in any U.S. county. These are the kinds of statistical oddities that emerge when your entire county has a population of 82 people, no elected government, and receives its annual freight delivery by barge, usually in July.

Read more: Kalawao County, Hawaii on Qualla

Image: Djzanni at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Kalawao County, Hawaii: America's Smallest County

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Travelgal52, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kalawao County occupies the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north coast of Molokai, comprising just 12 square miles of land and 41 square miles of surrounding water. It is the smallest county in the United States by land area. The county has no elected officials, no county council, an...

Read more: Kalawao County, Hawaii on Qualla

Image: Travelgal52 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kalawao County, Hawaii: Built by Lava, Defined by Law

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, Public domain. The peninsula that constitutes Kalawao County was formed geologically by a late eruption of an undersea volcano near Kauhako Crater, which sent lava spreading outward to create a low shield. This was the most recent volcanic activity on Molokai, occurring long after the massive s...

Read more: Kalawao County, Hawaii on Qualla

Image: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU | Public domain

Kalawao County, Hawaii: A Population in Decline

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew K. Smith, CC BY 2.0. The numbers track a slow vanishing. In 1900, 1,177 people lived in Kalawao County, almost all of them patients exiled with leprosy. By 1950, the count had dropped to 370. By 2010, it was 90. The 2020 census recorded 82 residents. The median age was 50.3 years, and nearly a quarte...

Read more: Kalawao County, Hawaii on Qualla

Image: Andrew K. Smith | CC BY 2.0

Kalawao County, Hawaii: Getting There, If You Can

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Djzanni at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Reaching Kalawao County requires either a small airplane or a steep descent down the pali trail from the rest of Molokai. The trail has been effectively closed to the general public since a 2018 landslide destroyed a bridge on the second switchback, though residents and workers s...

Read more: Kalawao County, Hawaii on Qualla

Image: Djzanni at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0