In 1815, German physician Georg Anton Schäffer, an agent of the Russian-American Company, arrived in Hawaiʻi to retrieve goods seized by Kaumualiʻi, chief of Kauaʻi island.

[4]: 91–95  According to the company instructions, Schäffer had to begin by establishing friendly relations with Kamehameha I, who had created a kingdom incorporating all the islands of Hawaiʻi and faced opposition from rebellious Kaumuali'i.

To his surprise, Kaumualiʻi eagerly signed a "treaty" granting Russian Tsar Alexander I of Russia a protectorate over Kauaʻi.

[3] Schäffer was also involved in a secret mission to Hawaii in 1816, where he tried to persuade Kamehameha I to accept Russian protection and establish a naval base on Kauai.

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi tasked Kauaʻi pioneer Valdemar Knudsen with the removal of armaments from the fort.

Similar work was being done in that era across the kingdom, with other forts dismantled at Kailua-Kona, Lāhainā, and along the waterfront at the old port of Honolulu.

A small parking lot is south of the Hawaii Route 50 bridge, known as Kaumualiʻi Highway in honor of the last king.

[7] This large stone construction is the most magnificent reminder of the Russians' attempts to gain an influential position in the Hawaiian Islands during the early 19th century.

Alexander Baranov, governor of the Russian American Company at Sitka, wished to open trade with the Hawaiian Islands to obtain food for the Alaska settlements and sent several vessels for this purpose.

One of these ships was wrecked at Waimea, Kauai, in 1815; the next year, Baranov sent Georg Anton Schäffer to recover the cargo and, likely, to open a permanent Russian trading post or gain a political foothold.

In a failed attempt to build a fort at Honolulu, Schäffer went back to Kauai to consolidate his position with Kaumualii.

He erected an earthwork at Hanalei and, sometime between April and October 1817, built a strong stone fort at Waimea, over which the Russian flag was flown.