The first people to migrate here in Maui were the Marquesas. They sailed in 750 A.D. from the pacific in their flagged doubled-hulled sailing canoes. The Marqueses didn't know anything about the island. They just notice that every time their birds go to this direction and come back after several month are much fatter. Marquesas started traveling. They chose the best of their best to go to their new land. Example is they brought with them their best hunters, so that they won't starve when they reach their destination. They also brought with them their families, animals, crops, and plants. For hundreds of years they built grass houses and stone temples, made tapa cloth and outrigger canoes, fished and ground the root of the taro plant into poi. The Tahitians followed the Marquesas and brought with them their goddesses and religion. The Tahitians introduced to the islands the kapu system, a strict social order that affected all aspects of life and became the core of ancient Hawaiian culture.

The Hawaiians were living on simple life style. This changed when Captain James Cook discovered Maui on November 26, 1778. In Cook's wake came traders, whalers, and missionaries. At the height of the whaling era (1840-1865). Lahaina served as anchorage for more than 500 ships.

The mid 1700s began the modern Hawaiian history. King Kamehameha I took up residence in Lahaina after conquering Maui in bloody battle in Iao Valley. Kamehameha's descendant reigned over the islands until 1872. They were followed by rulers from another ancient family of chiefs, including Queen Liliukalani who ruled in 1893 when the monarchy was overturned. One year later, the Republic of Hawaii was founded. They island was annexed by the United States in 1898 and made territory in 1900. That made Hawaii the 50th state in U.S.