The melee on Sept. 9, 1924, lasted five minutes. When it was over, 20 people were dead: four policemen and 16 Filipino sugar plantation workers who were participating in a strike for higher wages and better housing. What has become known as the Hanapepe Massacre holds the dubious distinction of being the bloodiest confrontation in Hawaii’s labor history. It’s hard to imagine it took place in Hanapepe, a quiet town in South Kauai that’s now known as an artists’ enclave.

On Sept. 9, 2006, as part of the observance marking the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Hawaii’s first sugar workers from the Philippines, a plaque was erected in Hanapepe Park to honor those who died in that skirmish. Although the park is the venue for community festivals drawing hundreds of people, the plaque and the incident it commemorates go largely unnoticed.

Mark Jeffers wants to change that; the Hanapepe Massacre is one of several little-known but important stories that he shares during the 90-minute, 1.5-mile walking tour of the town that he leads twice weekly.

The executive director of the Storybook Theatre of Hawaii is a master raconteur who has lived in Hanapepe for 20 years and devoted countless hours to researching its history. Hanapepe means “crushed bay,” likely referring to the landslides that moved masses of earth from the cliffs to the coast in olden times. Villagers made salt in seaside ponds and farmed taro, banana, sugar cane and sweet potatoes in the area centuries before the arrival of Capt. James Cook in 1778.

Hawaii’s first successful sugar plantation was established in Koloa, Kauai, in 1835. Over the next half-century, cane became king throughout the islands. Unlike many other towns in the islands, however, Hanapepe was not built by plantations; rather, immigrants who had fulfilled their plantation contracts settled there in the late 1880s to start rice farms, restaurants, markets, hotels, barbershops and other businesses to serve the local community.

By the 1930s Hanapepe was the busiest town on Kauai, complete with two movie houses, a bowling alley, seven bars, seven churches and three roller skating rinks. During World War II soldiers and sailors, on Kauai to train for combat in the Pacific theater, were frequent patrons of Kauai businesses.

After the war the military presence in Hanapepe decreased, and residents began moving to burgeoning Lihue, which promised more job opportunities. As the decades passed, Hanapepe retained its laid-back charm as Kauai’s “Biggest Little Town.“

Here are a few of the stops made during Jeffers’ tour:

Serikawa Hotel (1921)

3890 and 3900 Hanapepe Road

In the 1983 TV miniseries “The Thorn Birds,” starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward, the Serikawa Hotel doubled as a hotel in Queensland, Australia. In real life it opened as an inn with five rooms on the second floor and a grocery store, restaurant and sweet shop on the ground floor where the Serikawa family’s living quarters were also located. Guests paid $3 per night for lodging, meals and use of a shared bath.

Today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains offices upstairs, and street-level spaces are home to several businesses, including Popo’s Cookies, Niheu’s Shave Ice and the Hanapepe Collection art gallery.

Banana Patch Studio (1926)

3865 Hanapepe Road

The front section of this building was originally a bakery; the Chang family, who owned and ran the business, lived and had a tailor shop in the back. It was then a pool hall through the 1970s. Badly damaged by Hurricane Iwa in 1982, it stood vacant for 17 years.

In 1999 the current owner, artist Joanna Carolan, bought the building and began a painstaking restoration that was completed in 2003. On both the state and national registers of historic places, it now houses her art gallery, ceramic studio and a small museum chronicling Hanapepe’s history.

Blue Umi and Japanese Grandma’s Cafe (1931)

3871 Hanapepe Road

The K.C. Kai Store welcomed its first customers at this address in 1931. One of the largest stores in town at the time, it originally had an apartment in the back where the Kai family lived. During World War II the building served as a USO club for military personnel who were stationed in the area. Before its current occupants, it housed a clothing store, private residence and various art galleries.

Storybook Theatre of Hawaii (1933)

3814 Hanapepe Road

The tour ends at “Sparky’s Place,” whose namesake is Hawaii’s late U.S. Sen. Masayuki “Sparky”/“Spark” Matsunaga, who was raised in Hanapepe. Listed on the state register of historic places, it was initially Sun Ke Heong (House of Fragrance), a restaurant where customers enjoyed Chinese food and taxi dancing. Subsequent businesses included stores selling liquor, baby clothes, appliances, confections and jewelry.

Its 2,500-square-foot garden features a koi pond, gazebo, outdoor theatre and bronze life-size statue of Matsunaga by noted island sculptor Kim Duffett.

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THE THEATER

Storybook Theatre of Hawaii is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote performing and visual arts education and to perpetuate the cultural values and heritage of the people of the Pacific. It hosts special events throughout the year; coming up are the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 and the Princess Kaiulani Keiki Festival on Oct. 21 (check the website for details). Tax-deductible contributions can be made out to Storybook Theatre and mailed to the address above.

Hanapepe’s Art Night is held year-round on Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the event features live music, art demonstrations, “talk story” time with artists and food trucks.

Also drawing big crowds to Hanapepe are the Kaua‘i Chocolate & Coffee Festival, set this year for Oct. 20 and 21, and the Spring Fantasy Orchid Show, which will be April 13 and 14. For more information about Hanapepe, go to hanapepe.org.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.