Guam National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan

were turbulent as the Navy tried to establish order, alter many of the Catholic traditions, and set up a
democracy where most of the population didn’t speak English and lacked education or adequate health
services.
The Navy automatically acquired all Spanish crown lands, although the precise locations of the property
boundaries had not been accurately recorded so there was general confusion regarding land status. There
was no complete cadastral survey of Guam until the 1990s, which contributed to the confusion regarding
property boundaries and caused protracted litigation and fraud (Rogers 1995:130). The Navy also constructed
roads, built schools, improved sanitation and water quality, and revised the land and taxation laws.
During this period camphor, Jamaica mangoes, naval oranges, vanilla, black pepper, coral vines, fire trees,
blue water lilies and various other plants and shrubs were introduced by Lieutenant Stafford (Nelson and
Nelson 1992:150). Coconut palms grew well on the island and nearly every part of the tree and fruit was
used. Production of copra, the dried meat, of the coconut, was promoted as an industry base to help lift the
island’s economic condition.
In the early 1900s Japanese entrepreneurs acquired or leased large tracts of land to develop as coconut
plantations. The Japanese would then transport the copra back to Japan for final processing into the variety
of products including soap, cosmetic items, and fuel oil. Processing coconut for copra required a fairly
rudimentary system of air drying the cracked nuts. Drying racks on elevated platforms covered with an Aframe
roof of corrugated metal or canvas was a common feature at the plantations. The U.S. Government
tried to limit the Japanese by restricting their ability to own land to just five years, but by the 1910s Japanese
business interests dominated the economy of Guam. A plantation was established at Tarague and
possibly at Ritidian during this period. In 1917 the Atkins, Kroll and Company of San Francisco acquired
the Tarague plantation (Liston 1996:47).
World War I had little effect on Guam, except to increase the demand in Japan for copra, and production
doubled. The U.S. military increased personnel only slightly.
From 1898 until 1941 the whole island was one enormous naval station, operated principally in the interests
of the United States by a series of governors who ran the island as they would a warship (Kraft 1961:3). The
economy stabilized after the turn of the century for most of Guam’s population. The urban center of Agana
grew as many residents found employment with the U.S. Navy. The Commercial Pacific Cable Company
established a station on Guam in 1903 to link with Manila and Midway. Guam’s Cable Station was nearly
identical to the one on Midway, but was abandoned after World War II and is no longer standing. In 1935,
Pan American airlines constructed a hotel and began commercial air service to the Far East with refueling/
rest stops at Honolulu, Midway, Wake, Guam, and Manila.
Following World War I, Japan secured a mandate over all the former German islands north of the equator,
which left Guam nearly surrounded by Japanese holdings (Kraft 1961:6). By 1936, world conditions in the
Far East were unstable, but no clear policy for Guam’s future was formulated. With the Depression
devastating the U.S. mainland, little attention was given to this remote Pacific Island. The Depression
caused a drop in copra prices and the plantation at Tarague was closed.
At Ritidian there is no recorded evidence of copra production from the pre-World War II era. However,
the land ownership records have not been reviewed. Judging by the successful plantation at Tarague it is
likely that a coconut plantation was also planted at Ritidian. The 1940 census records noted that “the northeast
plateau (now Anderson AFB) had 80 farms averaging 17.6 acres each” suggesting that other areas
besides Tarague were farmed (Bureau of the Census 1951:1, in Carrico et al. 1993:26). Also by 1940, over
one-third of the island was owned by the naval government, a 30 percent increase since the U.S. took over in
1899 (Liston 1996:51).
11 Guam NWR - Cultural Resources Overview and Management Plan - 2006