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Kalawao County can be reached by sea or by mule train
but if you intend to visit, leave your children behind. State
law prohibits anyone under sixteen from living in or visiting
the second least populated county in America. Kalawao County
is Kalaupapa Peninsula, on the north coast of the island of
Moloka'i. The small peninsula of Kalaupapa is isolated from
the rest of Moloka'i by sea cliffs over a quarter-mile high —
the only land access is a mule trail.
 The county is coextensive with the Kalaupapa National
Historical Park, and encompasses the Kalaupapa Settlement
where the Kingdom of Hawaii, the territory, and the state once
exiled persons suffering from leprosy (Hansen's disease)
beginning in the 1860s. The quarantine policy was lifted in
1969, after the disease became treatable on an outpatient
basis and could be rendered non-contagious. However, many of
the resident patients chose to remain, and the state has
promised they can stay there for the rest of their lives.
State law prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from
visiting or living there. Visitors are only permitted as part
of officially-sanctioned tours.
The county does not have a county government, with the
exception of a sheriff who is selected from local residents by
the State Department of Health, which administers the county.
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