Wamesit
Wamesit was the band of Pennacook people,[1] the name of their village, and later the name of a praying town in 17th-century Massachusetts Bay Colony, situated at the juncture of the Concord River and Merrimack River,[2][3] in present–day downtown Lowell, Massachusetts.
Band
The Wamesit were a band of Pennacook, who were an Alonguian-speaking people.[1] They lived in what is now northeastern Massachusetts[4] at the confluence of the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, near an important seasonal fish run at Pawtucket Falls, described as an "ancient and capital seat of Indians [where] they come to fish."[3]
Praying town
In the 1650s, as part of the larger missionary efforts of John Eliot and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, a portion of this group was induced to settle into a European-style praying town.[5] In 1655, the Massachusetts Bay Colony formally gave Wamesit a charter.[6]
In 1674, there were an estimated 15 families of praying Indians in the European-style settlement at Wamesit, though many other non-Christianized Indigenous people continued to pass through the important fishing grounds.[3]
King Philip's War and aftermath
In June 1675, King Philip's War broke out between Wompanoag chief Metacomet and his allies, and the United Colonies of New England.[5]
During King Phillip's War, praying Indians faced danger from both non-Christianized Native groups and English settlers.[7] When, in October of 1675, the English interned many praying Indians on Deer Island, many of the praying Indians of Wamesit fled north to shelter with Pennacook kin in northern New England.[5]
After the war, in 1685, most of the remaining Native deeds in Wamesit were sold to English settlers by Wannalancit.[6] Wamesit was annexed into Chelmsford in 1726.[6]
Notable residents
- Wenepoykin (1616–1684), Sachem of the Naumkeag people who moved to Wamesit after King Philip's War
References
Notes
- ^ a b Swanton, pp. 17–18
- ^ Swanton, p. 18
- ^ a b c Gookin, Daniel (1674). Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society: Gookin's Historical Collections of Indians in New England. Robarts - University of Toronto. Boston [etc.] p. 197.
- ^ Swanton, p. 23.
- ^ a b c "From paradise to prison". Partnership of Historic Bostons. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ a b c "History". Middlesex North Registry of Deeds. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ Patchett, Joshua (January 3, 2023). "The Tragedy of the Praying Indians - The Mallard". Retrieved February 18, 2026.
Bibliography
- Swanton, John Reed (2003). The Indian Tribes of North America. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company. pp. 18, 23. ISBN 9780806317304.