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Quinsigamond was initially a Nipmuc indigenous village in Massachusetts, that eventually became the colonial settlement and modern-day city of Worcester.
More than nine variations of the name have been found in historical records: Quinsigamond, Quansigemog, Quansigamaug, Quansigamug, and Qunnosuog-amaug are among the place names used for the area. In the Native American Algonquian language, Quinsigamond is loosely translated as "the pickerel (or long nose) fishing place." Pickerel is a type of fresh water fish commonly native to inland lakes and ponds. [1]
American Nipmuc Indians named the body of water between Worcester and Shrewsbury, "Quinsigamond", the largest lake in the East. [2] Colonial settlers adapted the name of the lake for a nearby village and it was also the name given to the area known today as "Worcester." The name for Quinsigamond Community College, was also chosen to honor the cultural heritage of Worcester County. [3]
During the early 1600s, more than 15,000 Nipmuc Native Americans inhabited the region known today as New England. They were divided into small clans, and had a nomadic lifestyle. Areas that the Nipmucs are known to have roamed between include the contemporary Worcester County, Springfield, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Nipmucs were known as the original settlers of the area in western New England. [4] This territory encompassed the central trail to all areas of the northeast called the "Great Path" or the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.
The Nipmucs or "western" band of Indians were known as the "fresh water fishing" tribe or "people from the small pond", since they inhabited inland areas of New England. The Nipmuc people were known as a hunting and gathering tribe who lived a "scattered existence." They migrated on a seasonal basis, engaging in hunting, fishing, and cultivating corn, beans, and squash; these were considered to be the "three sisters" of essential sources of sustenance by their people. They also made canoes out of hollowed out logs, which was their main mode of transportation on the lake. [5]
English settlers arrived to the Worcester County area and found dispersed abandoned villages. The Nipmuc they encountered were friendly and attempted to adopt the settlers' ways. Rev. John Eliot introduced and converted many Native Americans to Christianity. Clusters of the converted Nipmuc people formed “praying towns” to practice their new religion. In 1637, the first settlement of Worcester was called the “Village of Quinsigamond” also known as “Quinsigamond Plantation.” Three buildings formed the heart of the village: the Quinsigamond branch library, the Quinsigamond school, and the Quinsigamond fire house. It functioned as a self-sustaining community which was predomidantly populated with Swedish and Irish immigrants. [6]
The English persuaded the Nipmuc people to allow the purchase of large amounts of land for minimal compensation. In 1652, the “Indian Land Rights Law” was passed. The law stated that Indian tribes would forfeit the title of their land if they hadn't made improvements upon it. When the Nipmuc realized their land was being taken from them, they joined the rise of King Philip's War. [5]
A Wampanoag Indian leader named Metacomet, also known as “King Phillip”, was mainly responsible for initiating the war. Metacomet and his band of Wampanoag Indians fought the colonists after the land that came to be the site of Plymouth was taken from them. King Philip's War was brutal and devastated most of the settlements in New England. By the time the war had ended, most of the villages from Marlboro to Grafton were destroyed, having been burnt to the ground. The remaining Nipmuc Indians in the area were captured and exiled to Deer Island in Boston Harbor. There, they lacked proper clothing, food, or provisions. The bulk of the Nipmuc population perished or were forced to live on reservations in the Worcester County area. The overall toll of the conflict dwindled the size of the population to less than 1,000.
In 1684, the English settlers of Quinsigamond Village changed their community name to "Worcester", to honor the King of England's defeat during the Civil War. [7] The colonists utilized the lake for recreational sports like swimming, boating, and fishing. In 1722, Worcester became a town and grew into a city, focusing its efforts on promoting the tourism industry. In the 20th century, the Quinsigamond Lake area grew into an amusement park tourist attraction offering picnic areas, boat rides, concerts, a dance hall, and a rollerskating rink. Horrace Bigelow purchased much of the land around the lake for summer homes. He also owned much of the lake real estate and boasted to friends that the park was drenched in "fifty thousand electric lights." Thus, the east side of the lake area (now in the town of Shrewsbury) was nicknamed "White City". Competitive rowing crews were extremely popular on the lake. The Olympic rowing trials were held on Lake Quinsigamond in 1952. [8]
Today, Nipmuc people live on the Chaubunagungamaug Reservation area in Webster, and the Hassanamisco Reservation in Grafton. The Indian population is about 2,000 people. Many continue the old way of life and carry on the traditions of their ancestors. The Quinsigamond Lake region is no longer home to an amusement park but a shopping area, and there are two state parks on the lake. The current usage of Quinsigamond Lake remains popular for recreational use. Many college and area club rowing crews continue to utilize the lake for this sport. [8] As the second largest city in Massachusetts, Worcester became known as "the heart of the commonwealth" and has continued to prosper. Quinsigamond Community College has flourished as one of the six biggest colleges in the Worcester Area. It has also continued to proudly bear the iconic original name of "Quinsigamond”, representing the rich cultural history of the indigenous people of the region. Jack O'Connell wrote a group of mystery novels set in the fictional city of Quinsigamond.
Worcester is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the 114th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city had 206,518 people at the 2020 census, also making it the second-most populous city in New England, after Boston, Massachusetts. Worcester is about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield, Massachusetts, and 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Providence, Rhode Island. Because it is near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth"; a heart is the official symbol of the city. Worcester is the historical seat of Worcester County.
Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated in 1735, the town is home to a Nipmuc village known as Hassanamisco Reservation, the Willard House and Clock Museum, Community Harvest Project, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
Metacomet, also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip, was sachem to the Wampanoag people and the second son of the sachem Massasoit. His older brother Wamsutta briefly became sachem after their father's death in 1661. However, Wamsutta also died shortly thereafter and Metacom became sachem in 1662.
King Philip's War was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands against the English New England Colonies and their indigenous allies. The war is named for Metacom, the Pokanoket chief and sachem of the Wampanoag who had adopted the English name Philip because of the friendly relations between his father Massasoit and the Plymouth Colony. The war continued in the most northern reaches of New England until the signing of the Treaty of Casco Bay on April 12, 1678.
The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island. Their historical territory includes the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
The Pokanoket are a group of Wampanoag people and the village governed by Massasoit, chief sachem of the Wampanoag people.
The Massachusett language is an Algonquian language of the Algic language family that was formerly spoken by several peoples of eastern coastal and southeastern Massachusetts. In its revived form, it is spoken in four Wampanoag communities. The language is also known as Natick or Wôpanâak (Wampanoag), and historically as Pokanoket, Indian or Nonantum.
Lake Quinsigamond is a body of water situated between the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) long, between 50 and 85 feet deep, and has a surface area of approximately 772 acres (3.12 km2). Lake Quinsigamond hosts 8 islands with the majority owned by private citizens. Two islands are connected to land via bridge. The largest island, Drake Island, is still state owned. Water from the lake empties into the Quinsigamond River in the Blackstone Valley.
The Massachusett are a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills overlooking Boston Harbor from the south.
The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the freshwater pond place', is in central Massachusetts and nearby parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The Nipmuc Nation was a non profit entity of the state-recognized tribe Hassanamisco Nipmuc, an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in South Grafton, Massachusetts.
Waban was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts.
The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band is a state-recognized tribe in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They were recognized in 1976 by Governor Michael Dukakis via Executive Order 126. They were briefly known as the Nipmuc Nation, a union of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck bands, during their attempt to receive federal acknowledgment as a Nation. The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band owns three and a half acres of reservation land in what is present day Grafton, Massachusetts. The Nipmuc are native to Central Massachusetts, Northeastern Connecticut, and parts of Rhode Island.
The Webster/Dudley Band of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indians, also known as the Chaubunagungamaug, Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck, Pegan or Dudley/Webster Indians, is a cultural heritage group that claims descent from the Nipmuc people. They are a state acknowledged tribe.
The Chaubunagungamaug Reservation refers to the small parcel of land located in the town of Thompson, Connecticut, close to the border with the town of Webster, Massachusetts, and within the bounds of Lake Chaubunagungamaug to the east and the French River to the west. The reservation is used by the descendants of the Nipmuck Indians of the previous reservation, c. 1682–1869, that existed in the same area, who now identify as the Webster/Dudley Band of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck.
Native American tribes in Massachusetts are the Native American tribes and their reservations that existed historically and those that still exist today in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Narragansett term for this region is Ninnimissinuok.
Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. Fort Devens is a major influence on the area, although it is considerably smaller than when it was first closed in the mid-1990s. The town's population was 8,479 at the 2020 census.
Quashaamit was a bilingual Praying Indian sachem or sub-sachem, and teaching minister. His tribal affiliation may have Nipmuc, Massachusett, and/or Wampanoag.
