Kekaha

Kekaha is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,537 at the 2010 census.HistoryFor most of the 20th century, the Kekaha Sugar Mill was the centerpiece of agriculture on Kauai's west side. The sugar mill had a major influence in Kekaha's development, including banking, employment, transportation, housing and utilities such as water and electricity. The mill employed several generations of local families. It closed in 2000 when the entire sugar industry in Hawaii collapsed. The mill was purchased in 2005 by mainland investors who sold off its heavy machinery to other mills as far away as Africa.Hawaii's first (and only) train robbery occurred here in February 1920, when a masked gunman stopped a slow-moving sugar train and escaped with the locomotive and $11,000 taken from the labor paymaster on board. Police recovered the money in a swamp near the home of a local fisherman, whose suspicious behavior soon resulted in his arrest and conviction. The fisherman was a big fan of Western movies, and was thought to have been inspired by some of the films he had seen.GeographyKekaha is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.2sqmi, of which, 1.0sqmi of it is land and 0.2sqmi of it is water.