Leone is the second-largest city on Tutuila Island's west coast.Clayville, Melinda (2021). Explore American Samoa: The Complete Guide to Tutuila, Aunu'u, and Manu'a Islands. Page 70. . The village is on the south-west coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. Leone was the ancient capital of Tutuila Island.Stanley, David (1999). South Pacific Handbook. Moon Handbooks. Page 445. .Swaney, Deanna (1994). Samoa: Western & American Samoa: a Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet Publications. Page 180. .Brillat, Michael (1999). South Pacific Islands. Hunter Publishing, Inc. Page 139. .Schyma, Rosemarie (2013). Südsee. DuMont Reiseverlag. Page 268. .Dini, Massimo and Rossella Righetti (1996). Le isole dell’Eden. Feltrinelli Traveller. Page 238. . 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.Stanley, David (1999). Moon Handbooks Tonga-Samoa. David Stanley. Page 177. . In the early 20th century, Leone was one of the centers for the Mau movement in American Samoa.Chapell, David A. (2000). "The Forgotten Mau: Anti-Navy Protest in American Samoa, 1920–1935". Pacific Historical Review. 69 (2): Page 232. ISSN 0030-8684.
The village is home to some of the oldest buildings on Tutuila Island. Besides the oldest church in American Samoa, Leone is home to a post office, high school, Pritchard's Bakery, Noela’s Gas Station and Kruse Supermarket. Buses from Fagatogo to Leone leave every few minutes throughout the year. An airstrip was built at Leone during World War II.Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag. Island Heritage. Page 176. . The village is home to two historical sites listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places: Fagalele Boys School, which may be the oldest building on Tutuila Island, and Tataga-Matau Fortified Quarry Complex.
Until the invention of the motorboat, Pago Pago Harbor was of little value as the ships were unable to turn around in such a confined area. The most common anchorage was therefore in Leone, where the first missionaries also arrived.Swaney, Deanna (1994). Samoa: Western & American Samoa: a Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet Publications. Page 164. . Its strategic location, directly over the southern horizon from Upolu Island, and the district Atua, has made Leone a major resting port for those traveling between Upolu, Tutuila, and the Manu'a Islands. Leone is now a lively municipal center. The origin of several of Leone's chiefly titles can be traced to Western Samoa.Fai’ivae, Alex Godinet (2018). Ole Manuō o Tala Tu’u Ma Fisaga o Tala Ave. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Page 155. .
Etymology The name originated from a famine that devastated Tutuila Island before modern history. Oral history shared through generations of ancestry recorded that Leone did not experience starvation during this famine; instead, the village had an abundance of food and other necessities, hence the name “Leone” which derives from “Le” (no) and “One” (famine). During the famine, the villagers in Leone provided food and commodities for nearby villages and for families from further away. This earned the village the prestigious title “Leone o le Tinā o le Alofa”, which means “Leone is the Mother of Love.” The village's musical emblem is a living recording of this historical representation.Fai’ivae, Alex Godinet (2018). Ole Manuō o Tala Tu’u Ma Fisaga o Tala Ave. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Page 154. . Another source translates the village name Leone in English as "The Sands".
History
Leone holds the distinction of being one of American Samoa's oldest settlements.The city trip guide for Pago Pago (2024). YouGuide Ltd. Page 28. . It was the ancient capital of Tutuila Island.Taylor, Jennifer and James Conner (2014). Architecture in the South Pacific: The Ocean of Islands. University of Hawaiʻi Press. Page 258. .West, Francis James (1961). Political Advancement in the South Pacific: A Comparative Study of Colonial Practice in Fiji, Tahiti, and American Samoa. Oxford University Press. Page 142. .Wheat, Karen (2016). Pictures of Change in Paradise at the Turn of the 20th Century in American Samoa. Page 23. . The Leone Quarry, recognized on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, is among the earliest excavation sites on Tutuila Island, with evidence of occupation dating back to around 200 CE.Stubbs, John and William Chapman (2023). Architectural Conservation in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands: National Experiences and Practice. Taylor & Francis. . The first petroglyphs to be found in the Samoan Islands were discovered at Leone’s lagoon.Hughes, H.G.A. (1997) Samoa: American Samoa, Western Samoa, Samoans Abroad. World Bibliographical Series: Volume 196. Page 46.
In 1980, Jeffrey Clark discovered a potsherd on Malaloto Ridge in Leone, marking the earliest documented prehistoric ceramic uncovered in American Samoa.Best, Simon (2002). Lapita: A View from the East. New Zealand Archaeological Association. Page 78. . The Tataga-Matau Fortified Quarry Complex, located on a series of ridges inland from Leone, has been the focus of an extensive multi-year research project. This site holds significant archaeological value for understanding the prehistory of Samoa. Its importance is further underscored by evidence that adzes produced at this quarry were widely distributed across the Western Pacific.Hunt, Terry L. and Patrick Vinton Kirch (1993). The To'aga Site: Three Millennia of Polynesian Occupation in the Manu'a Islands, American Samoa. Berkeley, CA: Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley. Page 4. . Adzes of distinctively Samoan typology - crafted from fine, dark basalt and originating in Leone - have been uncovered across a vast region, stretching from Lau in Fiji to Tokelau in the north and westward to the outer eastern Solomon Islands.
19th century On October 18, 1832, when missionary John Williams returned to the Samoan Islands, he dropped anchor in Leone Bay onboard the Messenger of Peace, but did not want to go directly ashore as he feared it was A'asu, site of the massacre of French sailors. Williams was surprised when village chief Amoamo paddled out to his ship to assure him that it would be safe to come ashore.Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag. Island Heritage. Page 64. .Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1980). Amerika Samoa. Arno Press. Pages 36-37. . The chief explained that a group of Tahitians who had landed at Sapapaliʻi — under the guidance of an Englishman called Viliamu — had already introduced the Christian faith to the local people. When Williams revealed that he was Viliamu, a grand celebration took place within the Samoan-style church at Leone, led by Chief Amoamo.Neems, Hugh (2014). Beyond The Reef. Lulu Publishers. Page 17. . In Leone, Williams went ashore and, though initially startled by what he saw as the people's savage appearance, he was nevertheless warmly welcomed.Krämer, Augustin (1994). The Samoa Islands: Material culture. University of Hawai'i Press. Page 25. . Later, Leone's Chief Amoamo served as the missionaries’ interpreter and played the most influential role in introducing the Christian faith to Tutuila Island. Williams’ visit made Leone the first village on Tutuila Island to formally receive Christian teachings.Fai’ivae, Alex Godinet (2018). Ole Manuō o Tala Tu’u Ma Fisaga o Tala Ave. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. .
In 1836, Rev. Archibald Wright Murray of the London Missionary Society arrived on Tutuila Island. He stayed in both Leone and Pago Pago before leaving the island in 1849. Reverend Barnden was also assigned to Leone in the 1830s. The missionaries chose to establish their headquarters at Leone. This was the beginning of the formal missionization of Tutuila.Linnekin, Jocelyn, Hunt, Terry, Lang, Lang and McCormick, Timothy (November 2006). "Ethnographic Assessment and Overview: National Park of American Samoa". Technical Report 152. Page 27. Pacific Cooperative Parks Study Unit. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). A History of American Samoa. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Pages 79-80. . At the time, the village was twice as populated as Pago Pago and served as capital of the Western District.Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag. Island Heritage. Page 65.
In 1836, Englishman Matthew Hunkin married Fatumalala Faiivae of Leone, the daughter of High Chief Faiivae of Leone. Hunkin was among the first Europeans to settle in the Samoan Islands. After building a boat for King Tuimanua in Manua, he lived with a family in Leone. The London Missionary Society granted him the status of assistant missionary, and he later made an attempt to spread the gospel to Niue. Hunkin resigned from the church in 1849 and went on to establish one of Tutuila's first shops in Leone. He also donated land to the church for mission houses in Leone.Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Pages 53-54. .
On October 11, 1839, Commodore Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition visited Leone. Midshipman William Reynolds was assigned surveying duty under Lieutenant Joseph Underwood. In the village, they were introduced to Chief Tuitele, who was happy to welcome them as guests for the night. In his diary, Reynolds described the gentleness and civility of the villagers. He wrote: “I noticed in the men, a fondness & care displayed towards their children,” and went on to write: “While on the beach many huge fellows had infants & babbling youngsters in their arms.” He later questioned whether “these people have more claim to be good than we.”Reynolds, William (2004). The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Penguin Classics. Pages 103-104. .Kirk, Robert W. (2012). Paradise Past: The Transformation of the South Pacific, 1520-1920. McFarland. Pages 179-180. .Philbrick, Nathaniel (2004). Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Penguin. Page 135. . Reynolds promised Chief Tuetila that he would clothe “him as a Papalangi” (white person) if he would show up to their ship on their return. The chief came, but Captain Charles Wilkes refused to see Chief Tuetila.Reynolds, William (2004). The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Penguin Classics. Page 105. .Reynolds, William Ane and Anne Hoffman Cleaver (1988). Voyage to the Southern Ocean: the letters of Lieutenant William Reynolds from the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Naval Institute Press. Page 105. .