Frederick Leopold Stolz Collection

The Story Behind the Stolz Collection

 

Frederick Leopold Stolz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived on Maui during the 1880’s and 1890’s, in Makawao District. Stolz was an active participant in the Maui community. He was a member of the charitable Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society and active participant in early Makawao Community Development. Notably, Stolz was a supporter of the Kalahaku rest house building effort in 1894. The rest house, then known as “Craigielea” provided shelter, warmth, and – as documented in the rest house guestbooks - many happy hours for visitors that had made the journey to the Haleakalā crater rim by horseback. The original Kalahaku rest house was re-built in 1914 by the Maui Chamber of Commerce and later demolished by the park service in 1957.

Stolz resided in the Olinda area and was the bookkeeper for Wilder’s Store and the Secretary for the Kahului Railroad in the 1880's. Throughout the 1890’s and early 1900’s, Stolz served as the Treasurer for the Kahului Railroad. His brother-in-law, William Mills Coffee, served as the Chief Engineer at the Hamakuapoko Sugar Mill (the area now known as Spreckelsville). In addition to Stolz’s photos of Haleakalā, the larger collection contains images Stolz took throughout Maui, Kaua‘i, and O‘ahu during his time in the islands. In the early 1900’s Stolz left Hawaiʻi and moved his family to California; he died in 1929 in San Francisco. These digital copies of the original photos were donated to Haleakalā National Park by Stolz’s great-great nephew Phillip Michael Coffee. The original photo album resides at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum on Oʻahu.