Russian Fort Elizabeth

Russian Fort Elizabeth near Waimea on Kauaʻi was built in 1817 during a brief alliance between Kaumualiʻi and Georg Anton Schäffer, an agent of the Russian-American Company seeking trade and influence after a shipwreck. Named for the Russian empress Elizabeth, the fort was an irregular octagon with high stone walls, quarters, and Hawaiʻi’s first Russian Orthodox chapel. When Schäffer lost support and departed later that year, forces loyal to Kamehameha took control and the fort became part of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Fort Hipo, serving in the suppression of Humehume’s 1824 rebellion. Abandoned by about 1853, its surviving earthworks remain a rare reminder of both Russian ambitions and Hawaiian military history.

Kekaha, Hawaii · United States