William Richards was the first Protestant missionary to Lahaina, and the Richards house, built on the site of the present Campbell Park, was the first coral stone home in the Islands.   Richards left the mission in the mid-1830s to work directly for the Kingdom of Hawaii as chaplain, teacher and translator to Kamehameha III.   Richards helped draft the constitution and traveled to the United States and England as the king's envoy to seek recognition of the kingdom's independence.   He also served as the first Minister of Education.   Richards died in Honolulu in 1847.

Across Front Street is the site of the Taro Patch.