Quinnatisset (also spelled Quantisset, Quinnetusset, Quanatusset, Quantiske, Quantisset, Quatiske, or Quattissick) was a

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...

village in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

which became a

praying town Praying towns were settlements established by English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. The Native people who moved into the towns were known as Praying Indi ...

through the influence of John Eliot and

Daniel Gookin Danyell "Daniel" Gookin (1612 – 19 March 1687) was a Munster colonist, settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American Indians. Early life He was born, perhaps in County Cork, ...

. The town was located near what is now

Thompson, Connecticut Thompson is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The town was named after Sir Robert Thompson, an English landholder. The population was 9,189 at the 2020 census ...

Pomfret, Connecticut Pomfret is a town in Windham County, Connecticut with a population of 4,266 according to the 2020 United States Census. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. It was incorporated in 1713 and was named after Pontefract ...

possibly near

Thompson Hill Historic District The Thompson Hill Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Thompson, Connecticut. The district covers , whose central focus is the Thompson Center Green, laid out when the town was established in 1735. Thompson Hill was th ...

. The name "Quantisset" means "little long river." Quinnatisset was located six miles south of Maanexit, another praying town. By 1667 John Eliot was involved with the village and attempted to mediate a misunderstanding regarding a tribute between the Quantisset Nipmucs and the Narragansett saunkskwa Quaiapin. Prior to

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 ...

Rev. Daniel Takawambait, possibly first ordained Native American in North America, served as a minister in the town. In 1674

wrote that " r uantissetwe appointed a sober and pious young man of Natick, called Daniel, to be minister, whom they accepted in the Lord." After

Black James sold several thousand acres of land in Quinnatisset to settlers. As late as 1730 there was still a large

wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

visible on the hill. There was a Nipmuc fort in Quinnatisset which "was assaulted and demolished, but the aboriginal cellar on Fort hill" is still visible.

References

{{reflist History of New England Christianization Aboriginal title in the United States Native American history of Connecticut King Philip's War Assimilation of Indigenous peoples of North America Native American Christianity