The Lyman Mission House

In 1832, missionaries David and Sarah Lyman traveled by ship from New England to the Sandwich Islands (as they called Hawai`i then). They had been married for all of 24 days before leaving on the six-month voyage. In the late 1830's they built the Lyman House as a family home and a school for young Hawaiian men nearby, the Hilo Boarding School. Over the years, the House became a place to raise their seven children and host guests including many of the Hawaiian ali`i (royalty) and other notables such as Mark Twain. The Lyman's never returned to their native New England, choosing to live out their lives in Hilo.

The Lyman Mission House is the oldest wooden structure on the Island of Hawai`i and one of the oldest in the State. It features furniture, tools, household items and artifacts used by the Lymans and other early missionary families.

During your tour of the Mission House, you can experience what it meant to live 5000 miles and 6-months journey away from your home and family in a house without electricity or running water and in a culture with a decidedly different language and culture from your own, while being driven a sense of duty to bring Christianity and western-style education to the Hawaiian people.

The Mission House is open to the public for guided tours Monday through Saturday, by appointment or at the scheduled times of 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm.