Moswetuset
Hummock is a Native American site and the original name of the tribe (Mosetuset) in the region named Massachusetts after them. The wooded hummock in
Squantum, Massachusetts, is formally recognized as historic by descendants of the
Ponkapoag people.
The location was the seat of the ruling Moswetuset Sac'hem (Native American chief)
Chickatawbut. During the warm season he conducted tribal council here. Members of the Moswetuset (Massachusett) tribe for centuries made the shore of Quincy Bay their seasonal home.
Moswetuset Hummock is understood to be the site where
Chickatawbut negotiated with
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
commander
Myles Standish
Myles Standish ( – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonist. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrims. Standish accompan ...
and
Tisquantum, a
Patuxet tribe
The Patuxet were a Native American band of the Wampanoag tribal confederation. They lived primarily in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, and were among the first Native Americans encountered by European settlers in the region in the ...
guide.
In his 1747 volume ''A History of New-England'',
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
Daniel Neal described Moswetuset Hummock as the origin of the name of the indigenous
Massachusett
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 ...
tribe. The colonists named the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
after them:
The Sachem or Sagamore who governed the Indians in this part of the country when the English came hither, had his seat on a small hill, or hummock, containing perhaps an acre and a half, about two leagues to the southward of Boston, which hill or hummock lies in the shape of an Indian's arrowhead, which arrow-heads are called in their language MOS, or MONS, with O nasal, and hill in their language is WETUSET hence, this great sachem's seat was called Moswetuset, which signifies a hill in the shape of an arrow's head, and his subjects, the Moswetuset Indians, from whence with a small variation of the word, the Province received the name MASSACHUSETTS.
Moswetuset translates to 'shaped like an
arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling.
...
'.
In 1970 Moswetuset Hummock was formally recognized and added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in Massachusetts.
The historic site is also recognized by the Native American descendants known as the Ponkapoag people. Moswetuset Hummock is located on East Squantum Street, the northern end of
Wollaston Beach,
Quincy Bay.
A
hummock is a geological term: by definition they are small and less than fifty feet in height. Earth hummocks, in contrast to ice hummocks, are also known as a small rounded knoll, mound of land, or a hillock. Hummocks are believed to be relict features that were formed under colder conditions when permafrost was likely present in the ground.
[Bates, Robert L. and Julia A. Jackson, ed. (1984). "hummock", ''Dictionary of Geological Terms,'' 3rd Ed. New York: Anchor Books. p. 241.]
Gallery
File:Mos tombtone.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock Commemorative Marker
File:Moswetuset.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock Shape
File:Mos Entrance.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock Bridge
File:Mos morning1.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock Rock
File:Mos Morning2.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock East
File:Mos Bird.jpg, Moswetuset Hummock North
See also
*
References
External links
The Massachusett Tribe at PonkapoagDiscover Quincy: MoswetusetMassachusetts State Park/ Quincy Shore Reservation details
Department of Conservation and Recreation
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Geography of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Protected areas of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Quincy, Massachusetts
Native American history of Massachusetts