Utulei or Utulei 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.Margolis, Susanna (1995). Adventuring in the Pacific: Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia. Sierra Club Books. Page 195. .Sunia, Fofō I. F. (1998). The Story of the Legislature of American Samoa. Legislature of American Samoa. Page 168. .Google Maps: Utulei, Eastern, American Samoa, accessed 12 March 2018. 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 (a portion of which is now known as Sadie's Hotel). Utulei Terminal offers views of Rainmaker Mountain.Stanley, David (1999). South Pacific Handbook. David Stanley. Pages 441-443. .

Also in Utulei are some of the hotels based in Pago Pago, such as Sadie’s by the Sea,Cruise Travel Vol. 2, No. 1 (July 1980). Lakeside Publishing Co. Page 60. ISSN 0199-5111. and the Feleti Barstow Library (American Samoa’s central public library), which is located across from Samoana High School.Talbot, Dorinda and Deanna Swaney (1998). Samoa. Lonely Planet. Page 158. .Stanley, David (1993). South Pacific Handbook. David Stanley. Page 367. . The library, which has the largest selection of literature in American Samoa,Goodwin, Bill (2006). Frommer’s South Pacific. Wiley. Page 397. . was developed between 1998 and 2000 with funds from the Community Development Block Grant, a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Utulei Beach Park has an enormous fale with ornate carvings, which is used for performances and events. Smaller fales in the park are used for everyday gatherings. Across from Utulei Beach Park is the Executive Office Building and Feleti Barstow Public Library. Next to the library is the largest high school on Tutuila Island, Samoana High School.Clayville, Melinda (2021). Explore American Samoa: The Complete Guide to Tutuila, Aunu'u, and Manu'a Islands. Page 41. .

History

YearPopulation 2020 479 2010 684 2000 807 1990 930 1980 980 1970 1,074 1960 719 1950 744 1940 488 1930 375

Utulei is by tradition considered distinct from Fagatogo because it is the site of Maota o Tanumaleu, the residence of the High Chief Afoafouvale (also known as the Le Aloalii). The current holder of that title is Afoa Moega Lutu, who has held it since 1990.

On November 3, 1920, Governor Warren Terhune mounted to the second floor of the Government House in Utulei, entered a room commanding an unobstructed view to the south through the entrance of Pago Pago Bay, and committed suicide by shooting himself.Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. United States Naval Institute. Page 198. .

During World War II, the population of the village of Utulei, around 700 inhabitants, was almost entirely displaced to make room for US military installations. One Naval officer was said to have describe Utulei as consisting of "a few native houses". The inhabitants were told to move out of the village and into the hills, and bachelor officers’ quarters and other military support facilities were built there.Kennedy, Joseph (2009). The Tropical Frontier: America’s South Sea Colony. University of Hawai'i Press. Page 201 and 213. . During World War II, the 1922 facilities for the storage of oil were insufficient for the demands of the war, and had to be replaced by a new oil dock in Fagatogo and a new tank farm at Utulei, the two being connected by piping. The electric power plant, which had lighted the U.S. Naval Station, gave way to two larger plants located respectively in Pago Pago and in Utulei, which provided power for the ship repair unit and other vital wartime installations.Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. United States Naval Institute. Page 243. .

On January 11, 1942, during World War II, shells from a Japanese submarine struck, ironically enough, the house of one of the few Japanese residents, Mr. Frank Shimasake, in Utulei, the only Japanese-owned building in the archipelago.Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. United States Naval Institute. Page 241. .Kennedy, Joseph (2009). The Tropical Frontier: America's South Sea Colony. University of Hawai'i Press. Page 207. .

In 1946, a vocational school was established in the former Marine barracks at Utulei, under the direction of Harry Matsinger, an educator from Hawai’i. Twelve of its fourteen teachers were perforce Americans, and their salaries alone amounted to roughly one-fifth of the total educational budget in American Samoa.Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. United States Naval Institute. Page 250. .

In 1946, the Public Health Department of American Samoa found its facilities grossly inadequate for the post-war demand. The old hospital, built in 1914, was too small and antiquated, and the U.S. Navy’s Medical Department could not be expected to provide all health services indefinitely. To address this issue, Governor Harold Houser turned two-story barracks at Utulei over to the department. These now-vacant Marine barracks were renovated and repurposed as a new 224-bed hospital—sometimes referred to as the Hospital of American Samoa — and included between 24 and 27 bassinets, along with a pharmacy and a dentistry. The hospital opened its doors in 1946. By 1950, it had admitted 2,771 patients and delivered around 40 percent of all babies born that year in American Samoa. Nursing needs were met by graduates of the local nursing school, while medical requirements were fulfilled by students chosen for the Central Medical School.Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. United States Naval Institute. Page 251. .Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). A History of American Samoa. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. . After the Navy's departure in 1951, however, there was a severe shortage of physicians and other health care professionals. In 1954, for example, there were only four doctors (one stateside and three European), and only one dentist. The hospital therefore depended heavily on nurses to provide its patient care.

In 1962, the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium (“Turtle House”) was constructed at Utulei to accommodate delegates to the South Pacific Conference; also known as Fale Maumei, it was designed in a turtle-like form.Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag. Island Heritage. Page 191. .

In 1964, the Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center was completed. It is named for Representative Michael J. Kirwan, who was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.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. Page 61. .

In the late 1960s, questions about where American Samoa's capital should be arose again after Governor Owen Aspinall moved his office to Utulei. Some argued that this violated the American Samoa Constitution, which designates Fagatogo as the capital and seat of government. Aspinall, however, was protected by the fact that Utulei is a subvillage of Fagatogo.

In 1980, during celebratory Flag Day military demonstrations, a U.S. Navy airplane accidentally hit the cables of the Mount ‘Alava Cable Car and crashed into the Rainmaker Hotel. All six naval personnel on board the aircraft died, as did two hotel guests.Swaney, Deanna (1994). Samoa: Western & American Samoa: a Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet Publications. .

In 1995, Governor A. P. Lutali restructured the Public Library Board to implement the 1989 plan for establishing a main public library in American Samoa. Construction of the library in Utulei was completed in 1998, resulting in an 11,000-square-foot facility built by Fletcher Construction, a New Zealand-based firm. After 18 months of legislation, development, and planning, Cheryl Ann Morales and her team officially opened the library to the public on April 15, 2000. The library quickly became a central hub for community activities in Utulei.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. Page 97. .

Geography Surface runoff - from Utulei Ridge, the Togotogo Ridge, and Matai Mountain - flows through Utulei, carried by the Vailoa Stream. The stream discharges into the sea at a point on the north side of the Pago Pago Yacht Club in Utulei.

Historical records reveal that, prior to 1900, extensive areas along the Pago Pago Harbor coastline, including the present-day locations of Aua and Utulei villages, were covered by mangrove vegetation.South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (1999). Coastal Management Profiles: A Directory of Pacific Island Governments and Non Government Agencies with Coastal Management Related Responsibilities. SPREP's Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Management Programme. Page 23. .

Utulei Beach Park

Utulei Beach Park is one of only a few public parks in Pago Pago — and on Tutuila Island as a whole. It was built by the U.S. Navy in the 1940s by filling in a marshy area near the Pago Pago Harbor. Next to the park are two historic naval buildings erected in the 1940s — two of four remaining original structures built here by the Navy during World War II - as well as the Pago Pago Yacht Club and the ASG Tourism Office. The park includes a grassy area with scattered trees and picnic sites. It is used for recreational activities, such as volleyball and picnicking, and is a common gathering place for social activities and events. The adjoining beach is used for canoe racing, kayaking, and windsurfing.United States National Park Service (1997). National Park of American Samoa, General Management Plan (GP), Islands of Tutuila, Ta'u, and Ofu: Environmental Impact Statement. Page 39.

In 2006, the governor proposed approving the addition of a McDonald's restaurant to Utulei Beach. He said he hoped the restaurant would boost activity during the evenings, a time when the area was usually almost deserted. This was a controversial proposal, because Utulei Beach is a designated park area that has received substantial funding from the National Park Service. The proposal was defeated.

In 2009, then-Governor Togiola Tulafono designated Su’igaula o le Atuvasa as one of the venues for the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts, slated to be hosted by American Samoa in the summer of 2010. Su’igaula o le Atuvasa is the portion of the beach closest to the former site of the Pago Pago Yacht Club.

Another public park in Utulei is Su’igaulaoleatuvasa, which is managed by the American Samoa Parks and Recreation department.

Tourism