Honolulu's population grew in the first few decades of the 1800s from a few hundred people living in thatched huts to about 3,000 in 1823. Missionaries erected the city's earliest wooden buildings in the 1820s.Starting in the 1840s, stones were used in construction. With so many foreigners moving to Honolulu during the late 1800s, rapid growth occurred, and the remaining thatched huts and old paths were replaced with permanent structures and patterned streets. By the 1900s, control of the city was dominated by the ever-increasing tide of Caucasians. The early 1900s also marked the beginning of a time when millions of postcards were mailed daily throughout Honolulu and the world.