Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th century Wailuku was the main tourist destination on Maui, though it has since been eclipsed with the rise of the resort towns such as Kaanapali. Historic sites in the town include Kaʻahumanu Church (named after Queen Kaʻahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I) which dates to 1876, the Wailuku Civic Center Historic District, the site of the Chee Kung Tong Society Building, and the Bailey House, a 19th-century former seminary and home that houses a history museum and the Maui Historical Society. There are two ancient temples near Wailuku, called — the Halekiʻi Heiau and the Pihanakalani Heiau. Both date back hundreds of years and were used for religious purposes by the native Hawaiians. Wailuku is served by Kahului Airport. Geography Wailuku is located at (20.891923, -156.502177) between the CDPs of Waihee-Waiehu to the north, Kahului to the east, and Waikapu to the south. The town is situated at above sea level, at the base of West Maui Volcano, known historically as Mauna Kahalawai and Hale Mahina, on the northern edge of the isthmus of East Maui (Haleakalā) and West Maui. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 7.16%, is water. The three moku or districts of west Maui are Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, and Wailuku. Wailuku is also known as Pūʻalikomohana, or Nā Wai ʻEhā which means the four waters. The four waters are the ahupuaʻa (smaller land division than district), which are Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiʻehu, and Waiheʻe. History Home to Maui's most famous Hawaiian rulers, site of Kamehameha's decisive 1790 victory at the Battle of Kepaniwai in the Iao Valley, location of the 19th century Mission Station and birthplace of the mighty sugar industry, Wailuku illustrates the powerful influences which shaped the town, the island and the state. The area was a center of power and population in pre-historic Hawaii. In the mid-1800s it was irrevocably changed when New England missionaries brought their religious beliefs, western skills and implements and new agricultural methods. By the 1860s the Wailuku Sugar Company (owned by C. Brewer & Co.) and other plantations were busy growing and milling sugarcane.