In 1878 Rufus Anderson Lyman and his family moved to the Hāmākua district and opened a sugarcaneplantation. His business partners were Samuel Parker, William G. Irwin, and Claus Spreckels. It was headquartered at coordinates 20°5′9″N155°26′6″W / 20.08583°N 155.43500°W / 20.08583; -155.43500 ("Paauhau"), on a cliff about 300 feet (100m) above the ocean. Fields reached up the slopes of Mauna Kea, with an innovative transportation system. After the cane was loaded onto a rail car, the full car rolled down to the edge of the cliff by gravity, and pulled an empty car uphill on a parallel track. A small railroad then transported the cane to the mill, along what is now called "Lower Cane Haul Road". It became one of the first fully irrigated plantations in 1911.[4] A small town for worker housing grew up above the mill.[3] Lyman opened the first post office in Hāmākua and served as its postmaster.[5] The company was sold to Honokaʻa Sugar Company in 1972, and it shut down in 1994.