The Androscoggin (Ammoscongon) were an

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

people from what are now the U.S. states of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. By the 18th century, they were absorbed by neighboring tribes.

Name

The name of the Androscoggin is derived from an anglicization of the Abenaki-language term Ammoscongon, which was the name given for the portion of the Androscoggin River from Lewiston Falls northward, as stated by Pere Pole in 1793.

Distribution

The Ammoscongon once lived in the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Ammoscongon'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data''The National Map'', a ...

watershed, located in present-day southern

and northern

. Their main village was located in the vicinity of present-day

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

. Together with the Pigwacket near

Fryeburg, Maine Fryeburg is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,369 at the 2020 census. Fryeburg is home to Fryeburg Academy, a semi-private preparatory school, and the International Musical Arts Institute. The town is also si ...

they formed the southernmost of the Abenaki tribes and were therefore one of the first in contact with the English colonists of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

History

17th century

In 1675, the Androscoggin took part in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

. The renowned hunter, trapper, fisherman and guide, Metallak (1727–1847), was a member of the Androscoggin tribe.

18th century

In 1725, the Androscoggin joined the

Pequawket The Pequawket were a Native American band of Abenaki people. In the 18th century, they lived in New Hampshire and Maine. Territory The Pequawket lived near the headwaters of the Saco River and near what is now Carroll County, New Hampshire a ...

and migrated to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. They later migrated north to Canada, where they settled in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec, present day Abenaki First Nations of Odanak.

Maps

Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner"; also: Wabanakia, "Dawnland") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of five principal Eastern Algonquian nations ...

(from north to south): Image:The_Mi'kmaq.png,

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

Image:Wohngebiet_Maliseet.png,

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...

Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy (Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language, Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'', Plural: ''Peskotomuhkatiyik'') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American/First Nations in Canada, First Nations people who live in northea ...

Image:Wohngebiet_Oestlicheabenaki.png, Eastern Abenaki (

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic p ...

, Kennebec, Pigwacket/Pequawket) Image:Wohngebiet_Westlicheabenaki.png, Western Abenaki (Arsigantegok, Missisquoi, Cowasuck, Sokoki,

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were Algonquian Indigenous people who lived in what is now Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a network of politically and culturally ...

Notes

References

* Bruce G. Trigger (ed.): ''

Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...

. Vol. 15. Northeast''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1978

External links

Abenaki Council of Odanak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Androscoggin People Abenaki in the United States Extinct Native American tribes First Nations in Quebec Native American history of Maine Native American history of New Hampshire Native American tribes in Maine Native American tribes in New Hampshire