Lahaina [key], city (1990 pop. 9,073), Maui co., on the west coast of Maui Island, Hawaii, in a sugarcane and pineapple region. It was the scene of the first European settlement in the islands and served as capital from 1810 until the seat of government was moved (1845) to Honolulu. Hawaii's first newspaper was printed in Lahaina, and the island's first school was established there in 1831. A whaling port in the mid-19th cent., Lahaina was also an important anchorage for the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the 20th cent.
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