[5] Tafuna's commercial strip is lined with businesses, government offices, recreational facilities, school institutions, service industries, and shops.

[8][9] Evidence from archaeological studies indicates that the Tāfuna Plain experienced volcanic activity as recently as 1,500 years ago.

Chronological analyses suggest that human settlement on the plain had already begun between 245 and 745 BCE, albeit on a limited scale.

The area, characterized by a dense rainforest growing over an inhospitable lava shield, served primarily as a site for pigeon hunting and occasional warfare.

This changed with the arrival of Western settlers (referred to locally as palangi), who used chainsaws and bulldozers to clear and level the land, transforming it for modern development.

[15] During World War II, Tafuna Air Base was the second-largest military installation on Tutuila Island, second only to the long-established U.S.

He also owned a small museum at his Aʻoloau-Tafeta estate, which featured the nifo ‘oti used by High Orator Olo Letuli to light the Pacific Mini Games Torch at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tāfuna in 1997.

[17] In 2016, visits by church ministries and NGOs led to the creation of a recording group at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF).

[18] In 2019, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catholic Church’s Fatuoaiga Pastoral and Cultural Center provided housing for suspected cases in American Samoa.

[19] In 2019, the Catholic Church's Hazard Mitigation Project partnered with politician Larry Sanitoa, American Samoa Power Authority, and Paramount Builders to carry out essential road resurfacing in Fatuoaiga.

[20] In October 2021, the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held an official ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a LDS temple at Ottoville.

Near the Catholic church at Ottoville is an archeological park containing a well-preserved ancient Polynesian mound as well as a rainforest reserve.

[24][25] The Tafuna-Leone Plain was formed during the most recent major volcanic activity in the region, which occurred approximately 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.

This geological event resulted in extensive lava flows that shaped the Tafuna Plain, creating a distinctive landscape characterized by basaltic rock and minimal soil development.

Bulldozers were used to scrape away and clear a thick jungle, and explosives were later utilized to blast away obstructions and fill underwater areas.

[33]: 173–174  On July 18, 1962, the first jet-plane, Pan Am Boeing 707, arrived at Tafuna International Airport, carrying Stewart Udall, the Secretary of the Interior.

[42] Tafuna is notable for its diverse population, including immigrants from Western Samoa, Korea, Fiji, the Philippines, Tonga, China, Europe, and mainland United States.

Unlike other villages in American Samoa, much of Tafuna's land is privately owned rather than controlled by extended family groups, or aiga.

Kanama Fou had now become a large religious center for seminars, conferences, athletic- and youth activities, and many more community uses.

[45]: 356 The Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa (CCCAS) holds its general meetings biennially each July at the Kanana Fou center in Tafuna.

The Tafuna compound features multiple buildings designated for each respective matagaluega/pulega, providing accommodation for their representatives during the meetings.

Elder Dr. Pati Pia’i Vaeao, president of the First Samoan Full Gospel Pentecostal Church (FSFGC), established the Peteli Academy at Ottoville in 2004.

Samoan artist Sven Ortquist did the fourteen deep-relief Stations of the Cross and other woodcarvings and also designed the stained glass windows.

Adjacent to the Fatuoaiga Catholic Church Center is a historic park with restored tia seu lupe (a pigeon-catching mound) that resembles the later marae of Eastern Polynesia.

[65] Due to population pressures, including the demands for housing and agriculture, the native coastal and lowland rainforest of the Tafuna Plain has been almost entirely cleared.

[67] Mangrove forests play a crucial role in stabilizing shorelines and act as natural barriers against hurricanes and storm waves.

In American Samoa, the most significant remaining mangrove forests are located at Tafuna, Masefau, and Aunu'u Island.

The largest and most prominent of these is Pala Lagoon, situated between Nu'uuli and Tafuna, which represents the most extensive mangrove ecosystem in the region.

[68][69] The Bristle-thighed curlew, the largest shorebird in the Samoan Islands, is occasionally observed near the airport,[70] along with the more common Wandering tattler and the Sooty tern.

[71] The Barn Owl, the only bird of prey in American Samoa, is frequently seen in Tafuna's plantation lands west of the airport, often perched on electric lines or flying along the coastal road.