In 1922, James Dole, the president of Hawaiian Pineapple Company (later renamed Dole Food Company), bought the island of Lanai for $1.1 million and developed a large portion of it into the world's largest pineapple plantation. He plowed the fields, created a harbor, and laid out a small town in the island's center to house Dole employees.

There is one school, Lanai High and Elementary School, serving the entire island from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The highest point in Lanai is Mount Lanaihale, an inactive volcano near the center of the island, at 3,366 ft (1,026 m).