Russian Fort Elizabeth

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In 1815, Russian doctor, Georg Scheffer, arrived in Hawaii to gain trading privileges from King Kamehameha I, who had created a kingdom incorporating all the islands of Hawaii. The Russian went to Kauai, nominally under the control of King Kaumualii, to salvage Russian cargo being held in Waimea. Once on Kauai, Scheffer gained the confidence of Kauai High Chief Kaumualii when he promised that Tsar Alexander I of Russia would help him to break free of Kamehameha's rule. Officially Kauai had pledged allegiance to Kamehameha, however, Kaumualii thought he could reclaim his own kingdom with the help of Russia.

Kaumualii allowed Scheffer to build a fort near Waimea and two others near Hanalei on Kauai. Also known as Pa`ula`ula o Hipo, or Fort Elisabeth, Russian Fort Elizabeth was constructed in 1816 on the east bank of the Waimea River overlooking Waimea Bay, as a result of the alliance between High Chief Kaumualii and the Russian-American Company. When it was discovered that Scheffer did not have the backing of the tsar, he was forced to leave Kauai. Russian Fort Elizabeth eventually became under the control of Kamehameha supporters and years later was used to put down a rebellion by Kaumualii's son, George Prince Kaumualii.

The Kingdom of Hawaii tasked Kauai pioneer Valdemar Knudsen with the removal of armaments from the fort. Similar work was being done in that era across the kingdom with other forts being dismantled at Kailua-Kona, Lahaina and along the waterfront at the old port of Honolulu. In a letter sent to Honolulu, Knudsen listed an inventory of the guns at the fort following a survey made in 1862. They included 60 flintlock muskets, 16 swords, 12 18-pound cannon, 26 4- and 6-pound cannon, 6 heavy guns and 24 little guns.

Following the decommissioning of the fort in 1864, while Knudsen was loading armaments and munitions for sale as scrap metal onto a schooner in Waimea Bay, one or two cannon fell into the murky waters of Waimea Bay.

Details of the dismantling of the fort appear in Peter Mills' book Hawaii's Russian Adventure - A New Look at Old History, published in 2002. Mills is an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and chair of its Anthropology Department, and has led archaeological field surveys of the Russian Fort area.

It is the only remaining Russian fort in Hawaii.