The sugar mill started running again in 1861. That year the first sample bag of sugar was produced at the mill. Rose Ranch gained great publicity during the Civil War for donating 200 barrels of molasses to be sold for the benefit of relief work during the war. The amount of money raised from the […]

On July 4, 1866, ‘Ulupalakua witnessed a parade unequaled by any other celebration on the island of Maui. Thus began the legacy of Rose Ranch’s hospitality and the extravagant celebrations that would follow. Mākena Bay became a popular anchorage for warships, no doubt attracted by the stories of sumptuous dinners and lavish entertainment in ‘Ulupalakua. […]

The early paniolo of ‘Ulupalakua were trained by Angus MacPhee, five-time world champion roper and broncobuster with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. In 1908, three Hawaiian paniolo traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming to compete in the Frontier Days world roping competition. Jack Low took sixth place. Archie Ka’aua won third. Then Ikua Purdy dropped and tied […]

Frank Fowler Baldwin purchased what became known as Ulupalakua Ranch in 1922. Frank Baldwin was a leading member of the most prominent family in the modern history of Maui. Grandson of Dwight Baldwin, the Lāhainā missionary, and son of H.P. Baldwin, the pioneer sugar grower, Frank was president of the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company […]

When C. Pardee Erdman purchased Ulupalakua Ranch in 1963, the operation consisted of 58,000 acres and 6,000 head of cattle worked by 30 ranch hands living on the ranch with their families. Erdman has maintained the paniolo tradition here during the rapidly changing times. A former petroleum geologist with roots in Hawai’i, Southern California, and […]

The winery was established as a Hawai’i Corporation in August 1974. The company was started by C. Pardee Erdman of Ulupalakua Ranch. Remaining true to the land’s heritage, many of the historic Makee estate buildings are used in the winery. The old dairy constructed of thick lava rock is now used as the winery’s lab […]

After experimenting with several different varietals in many areas on Ulupalakua Ranch, they eventually found the right location and planted 23 acres of Carnelian grapes. Carnelian was a hybrid grape developed at UC Davis by Dr. Olmo and was the sole choice after trialing over 140 varietals. With great precision and consideration as to elevation, […]

In 1886, the beloved Rose Ranch was sold to James Isaac Dowsett for $84,500. The son of a British sea captain who had turned to trading, Dowsett was said to be the first Anglo-Saxon child not of missionary parentage to be born in Hawai’i. He was the childhood playmate of several future Hawaiian kings. Raising […]

Dr. James M. Raymond purchased the ranch and renamed it Raymond Ranch in 1900. Dr. Raymond started out as a bellboy in a large hotel in Saratoga, New York. An ambitious young man, he worked his way through medical school, graduating three months before the rest of his class. Later he visited Hawai’i, fell in […]

The last sugar crop was ground in the old mill in March 1883. Cattle were then allowed to graze on the fields of standing sugar cane, and ‘Ulupalakua then became solely a cattle ranch.

On September 16, 1879, Captain James Makee died at the age of 67. His body was covered in Kentucky whiskey and placed in a lead coffin. The coffin was laid to rest in the mausoleum below the sugar mill that he had built when he first moved to Rose Ranch. His body remained there until […]

In 1878, a severe eight-month drought dried out the newly planted fields, and from then on the sugar cane acreage declined steadily year by year until March 1883, when the last crop was ground in the mill.

As the story goes, a poker game was in session in which the king had played his last chip. The card table was on the open porch, which offered a great view of the ocean below and the moon lit outline of the island of Molokini. King Kalākaua called for another hand. “I will bet […]

King Kalākaua and his wife, Queen Kapi’olani, first visited Rose Ranch shortly after his election to the throne in 1874. One hundred and fifty horsemen carrying torches greeted the royal party at Mākena Harbor and escorted them along the five-mile climb to Rose Ranch. The king and queen enjoyed three days full of singing, dancing, […]

On August 9, 1871 a devastating hurricane hit the island of Maui. Makee described the storm in the Hawaiian Gazette, saying: “At a quarter past ten this morning, I went into the office to write letters. Five minutes after, it was blowing one of the most fearful hurricanes I ever experienced. The door of the […]

In its “heydays” of production, the sugar mill at Rose Ranch made about 800 tons of sugar a year from 1,000 acres of sugar cane. For 10 years, the mill produced 800+ tons of sugar annually. In 1864, the mill reached $100,000 in sugar sales, which would equal about $2.7 million today. Makee had rebuilt […]