By the 1860s, the shrinking population of native Hawaiians was being replaced by ethnic Chinese people when their contracts expired on sugarcane plantations in Hawaii, such as the one directly to the north in Princeville.

[7] The pier was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii on September 13, 1979, as site 79000757.

The Hanalei Rotary Club raised over $170,000 to restore the neglected canopy in a program coined "Save the Pier.

"[4] Although originally owned by the state, the land at the base of the pier is a Kauai County park known as Black Pot Beach.

Adjacent to the north is the mouth of the Hanalei River, where a public boat landing provides recreational and commercial access.