Lihu‘e’s lion fountain Lihue’s lion fountain, now located on the mill side of Haleko Road just above the four Haleko Shops buildings, was gifted to the community by Rev. Hans Isenberg in 1911. But the original site of the fountain
Lihu‘e’s lion fountain
Lihue’s lion fountain, now located on the mill side of Haleko Road just above the four Haleko Shops buildings, was gifted to the community by Rev. Hans Isenberg in 1911.
But the original site of the fountain was uphill of its present location and closer to the Government Road (now Rice Street).
Another difference is that Isenberg’s fountain initially faced Haleko Road lengthwise, whereas today it is positioned at an angle to the road.
Isenberg bought the fountain for nearly $1,000 in Florence, Italy, where it was crafted by an artist named Scheibert.
When the fountain was in working order and in prime condition water poured into the trough, which is made of decorated white marble, through two 1-inch pipes that protruded from the mouths of two lion heads, also made of marble.
These lion heads are set into a marble wall behind the trough that is decorated with scrolls and other designs. Two smaller lion heads beneath the trough support it. The smaller lion heads were also originally partly buried in cement.
At that time, the entire fountain stood about 6-feet high by 6-feet wide and when filled held about 60 gallons of water.
West of and bordering upper Haleko Road in those days was an expansive tract of many two-story, concrete homes constructed for German mill workers and their families who were brought to Kaua‘i by Lihu‘e Plantation manager Paul Isenberg, Rev. Isenberg’s older brother. All that remains today of these homes are the four Haleko Shops buildings.
Determined, refined in his mannerisms and austere, Rev. Hans Isenberg (1855-1918) was an ordained Lutheran pastor who ministered the Lutheran Church on German Hill in Lihu‘e from 1887 until his death in 1918. His business interests included Hackfeld & Company and Lihu‘e Plantation.
