Government House (American Samoa)

Last updated
Government House
GOVERNMENT HOUSE OR GOVERNOR'S MANSION.jpg
Government House in 2007
Location Fagatogo, Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa
Coordinates 14°16′38″S170°40′59″W / 14.277224°S 170.683006°W / -14.277224; -170.683006 Coordinates: 14°16′38″S170°40′59″W / 14.277224°S 170.683006°W / -14.277224; -170.683006
Area1.4 acres (5,700 m2) [1]
Built1903
Part of U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Historic District [2] (ID90000854)
NRHP reference No. 72001443
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 16, 1972
Designated NHLDecember 14, 1990

Government House, also known as Building No.1, Naval Station, Tutuila or Government House, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, is a historic government building on the grounds of the former United States Naval Station Tutuila in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Built in 1903, it has served as a center of government on the island for much of the time since then. Government House was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1972, [3] and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990. [4]

Contents

Government House is located in Fagatogo on Maugaoalii Mt. and overlooks the Pago Pago Bay area on all sides of its mountaintop location. [5]

Description and history

Government house.jpg

Government House is set on Observatory Point, located at the crook of the L-shaped Pago Pago Harbor, between the villages of Utulei and Fagatogo. The original block of the house is a wood frame cruciform structure, mounted on concrete piers. It is two stories in height, with a corrugated metal roof and clapboard siding. As built it was nearly encircled by porches on both levels, but portions of these have been enclosed. A one-room addition extends the building to the east. Due to its siting on a ridge sometimes exposed to hurricane-force winds, the building is secured by ten-foot metal spikes embedded in the ground. [1]

The interior of the house has features unique to its location and status. The ground floor has five public rooms, including a large dining room, a formal sitting area, and a distinctively Samoan room, lined with tapa cloth and housing Samoan artifacts. Another aspect of the property's public role is the presence of a ceremonial guest house (fala tele) on the property. [1]

When the United States gained control of what is now American Samoa due to the Tripartite Convention of 1899, the island was placed under the administration of the United States Navy. This house was built on the orders of Admiral Uriel Sebree in 1903. From this house naval governors administered the territory until 1951, when administration was turned over to the United States Department of the Interior. It has since been the official residence of the territory's civilian governors, and has been host to virtually every major dignitary to visit the island. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Pago Pago Chief port of American Samoa

Pago Pago is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island.

Tutuila Largest island in American Samoa

Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa, and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Brisbane, Australia and lies over 1,200 kilometers (750 mi) to the northeast of Fiji. It contains a large, natural harbor, Pago Pago Harbor, where Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, is situated. Pago Pago International Airport is also located on Tutuila. The island’s land expanse is about 68% of the total land area of American Samoa. With 56,000 inhabitants, it is also home to 95% of the population of American Samoa. The island has six terrestrial and three marine ecosystems.

History of American Samoa

Wikimedia Atlas of American Samoa

American Samoa Fono Territorial legislature of American Samoa

The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most state and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is located in Fagatogo along Pago Pago harbor.

Fagatogo Village in American Samoa, United States

Fagatogo is the downtown area of Pago Pago. Located in the low grounds at the foot of Matafao Peak, it was the location of the first American settlement on Tutuila Island. It includes the sub-village of Malaloa. Today, Fagatogo is the government, commercial, financial, and shipping center of Tutuila. It is also the administrative capital of American Samoa. It is the location of the American Samoa Fono (legislature), and is listed in the Constitution of American Samoa as the territory's official seat of government. Its population is 1,737.

Poloa, American Samoa Village in American Samoa, United States

Poloa is a village in American Samoa. It is located at the west side of Tutuila in the Alataua District. The village has 193 residents in 2010. The main denominations in the area are Methodist and Christian. Poloa has one elementary school. It is located in Lealataua County.

Utulei, American Samoa Village in American Samoa, United States

Utulei or ʻUtulei is a village in Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, the legislative capital of American Samoa, and is located on the southwest edge of Pago Pago Harbor. Utulei is the site of many local landmarks: The A. P. Lutali Executive Office Building, which is next to the Feleti Barstow Library; paved roads that wind up to a former cablecar terminal on Solo Hill; the governor's mansion, which sits on Mauga o Alii, overlooking the entrance to Goat's Island, and the lieutenant governor's residence directly downhill from it; the Lee Auditorium, built in 1962; American Samoa's television studios, known as the Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center; and the Rainmaker Hotel. Utulei Terminal offers views of Rainmaker Mountain.

Leone, American Samoa Village in American Samoa, United States

Leone is the second-largest city on Tutuila Island's west coast. The village is on the south-west coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. Leone was the ancient capital of Tutuila Island. Leone was also where the Samoan Islands’ first missionary, John Williams, visited on October 18, 1832. A monument in honor of Williams has been erected in front of Zion Church. Its large church was the first to be built in American Samoa. It has three towers, a carved ceiling and stained glass. Until steamships were invented, Leone was the preferred anchorage of sailing ships which did not risk entering Pago Pago Harbor. Much early contact between Samoans and Europeans took place in Leone.

United States Naval Station Tutuila

United States Naval Station Tutuila was a naval station in Pago Pago Harbor on the island of Tutuila, part of American Samoa, built in 1899 and in operation until 1951. During the United States Navy rule of American Samoa, from 1900 to 1951, it was customary for the commandant of the station to also serve as Military Governor of the territory. Benjamin Franklin Tilley was the first commandant and the first officer responsible for the naval station's construction.

Index of American Samoa–related articles Wikipedia list article

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the United States Territory of American Samoa.

Blunts Point Battery United States historic place

The Blunts Point Battery, also known as Blunts Point Naval Gun or Matautu Ridge Gun Site, is a gun battery on Matautu Ridge near Pago Pago, American Samoa. It was part of the fortification of the Samoan Islands which took place after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and is a rare example of a World War II Pacific coastal gun which remains in relatively pristine condition. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

American Samoa Unincorporated territory of the United States in the South Pacific Ocean

American Samoa ( is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. Its location is centered on 14.3°S 170.7°W. It is east of the International Date Line, while Samoa is west of the Line. The total land area is 199 square kilometers, slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the rest of the United States.

Afao Village in American Samoa, United States

Afao is a village in southwest Tutuila Island, American Samoa. It is located on the island's short southwestern coast, between 'Amanave and Leone, to the southwest of Pago Pago. It includes the settlement of Atauloma. Afao is home to two places listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places: Afao Beach Site and Atauloma Girls School.

Pago Pago Harbor Bay in American Samoa

Pago Pago Harbor on Tutuila Island in American Samoa is one of the world's largest natural harbors. The capital, Pago Pago is located on the inner reaches of the harbor, close to its northwesternmost point. It has the highest annual rainfall of any harbor in the world. It is also considered one of the best and deepest deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean or in Oceania as a whole. Pago Pago Bay is over 400 feet (120 m) deep and two miles (3.2 km) long. As part of the Pago Volcano caldera, the harbor is 50% landlocked,

Courthouse of American Samoa United States historic place

The Courthouse of American Samoa, formerly Administration Building, Navy No. 21, is a historic building near Pago Pago Harbor in Fagatogo, American Samoa. It is a two-story wood-frame building mounted on concrete piers, with a two-story veranda on three sides. A concrete vault is located at the back of the building. The court house was reported by the local commander to have been completed about 1904. It housed the offices and other facilities from which the United States Navy administered the island from its construction until 1952, and was where advisory councils of the island's indigenous leaders were held. The building is one of the oldest standing in American Samoa, having survived typhoons and other perils.

Jean P. Haydon Museum United States historic place

The Jean P. Haydon Museum is a museum in Pago Pago dedicated to the culture and history of the United States territory of American Samoa. It contains a collection of canoes, coconut-shell combs, pigs’ tusk armlets and native pharmacopoeia. It also houses exhibits on natural history, tapa making, traditional tattooing, as well as a collection of war clubs, kava bowls, and historic photographs. Constructed in 1913 as U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Commissary, the building was home to Tutuila Island's Post Office from 1950–1971. The museum has displays of various aspects of the Samoan Islands’ culture and history. It is the official repository for collections of artifacts for American Samoa. Funded by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture and the Humanities, it is the venue used for numerous of the cultural resource activities in American Samoa.

Vatia, American Samoa Village in American Samoa, United States

Vatia is a village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It is a north shore village located on Vatia Bay. The road to Vatia, American Samoa Highway 006, is the only road going through National Park of American Samoa. Vatia is a scenic community at the foot of Pola Ridge and surrounded by the national park. It is only reached by Route 6 which traverses the national park before reaching Vatia. There was once a hiking trail over Maugaloa Ridge from Leloaloa, but since the completion of Route 6, this trail is now overgrown. It is home to a beach, and panoramic views of jungle-covered peaks surround the village on all sides. Vatia is the center of the Tutuila-section of National Park of American Samoa. It is located in Vaifanua County.

Maʻopūtasi County County in American Samoa ----, United States

Maʻopūtasi County is located in the Eastern District of Tutuila Island in American Samoa. Maʻopūtasi County comprises the capital of Pago Pago and its harbor, as well as surrounding villages. It was home to 11,695 residents as of 2000. Maʻopūtasi County is 6.69 square miles (17.3 km2) The county has a 7.42-mile (11.94 km) shoreline which includes Pago Pago Bay.

Malaloa is a sub-village of Fagatogo and is located at the end of Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa. It is located in-between Fagatogo proper and the village of Pago Pago. Cruising boats entering and leaving Pago Pago should clear at Malaloa Marina. The Malaloa Marina was opened for cruisers’ use and has added a customs wharf to handle inbound and outbound clearances.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Thompson, Erwin N. (March 16, 1990), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form / National Historic Landmark Nomination: Government House, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila (PDF).
  2. Thompson, Erwin N. (October 15, 1988), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Historic District (PDF), retrieved November 26, 2014.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. National Park Service. "National Historic Landmark Program: NHL Database". Archived from the original on June 6, 2004. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  5. Hills, J.W. (2010). O upu muamua i le Tala i le Lalolagi mo e ua faatoa a'oa'oina u lea mataupu: Elementary Geography. Nabu Press. Page 61. ISBN   9781147952896.