 It was the site of an ancient Hawaiian fertility ritual , which was stopped by Christian missionaries during the 1830s . The island was given by Kamehameha I to Spanish deserter Francisco de Paula Marín , and later returned to the monarchy . After the island was bought at auction by James Isaac Dowsett and sold to Caroline Jackson , it became the property of Dr. Seth Porter Ford by marriage and was renamed Ford Island . After Ford 's death , his son sold the island to the John Papa ʻĪʻī estate and it was converted into a sugarcane plantation . 
