Redemption Rock is a colonial-era historic site in
Princeton, Massachusetts. In 1676, during
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 release of
Mary Rowlandson
Mary Rowlandson, née White, later Mary Talcott (c. 1637January 5, 1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ...
(the wife of a
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
minister) from her
Native American captors was negotiated atop a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
ledge. The parcel upon which the rock stands was acquired by the land conservation non-profit organization
The Trustees of Reservations
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
in 1953, and is open to the public.
Rowlandson would later write about her experience in ''A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson'', considered a seminal work in the American literary genre of
captivity narratives.
Redemption Rock is located off
Massachusetts Route 140
Route 140 is a north—south state highway which passes through Bristol, Norfolk and Worcester counties in Massachusetts. The highway follows a southeast-northwest trajectory, running from U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in New Bedford just north of Buzza ...
, near
Wachusett Mountain.
Inscriptions and markers
The inscription on Redemption Rock reads: "Upon this rock May 2, 1676 was made the agreement for the ransom of Mrs Mary Rowlandson of
Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
between the Indians and
John Hoar of
Concord.
King Philip was with the Indians but refused his consent."
The official state marker at the site, placed in 1930, reads: "Upon the rock fifty feet West of this spot Mary Rowlandson wife of the first minister of Lancaster was redeemed from captivity under King Philip. The narrative of her experience is one of the classics of colonial literature."
Recreation
The
Midstate Trail passes by Redemption Rock.
Wachusett Mountain State Reservation is 1.2 miles south along the trail. The
Crow Hills in
Leominster State Forest are 1.6 miles north along the trail.
References
External links
The Trustees of Reservations.org: Redemption Rock
{{coord, 42, 30, 24.2, N, 71, 52, 10.8, W, type:landmark, display=title
Rock formations of Massachusetts
Landforms of Worcester County, Massachusetts
Princeton, Massachusetts
Open space reserves of Massachusetts
Native American history of Massachusetts
Pre-statehood history of Massachusetts
Protected areas of Worcester County, Massachusetts
The Trustees of Reservations
1953 establishments in Massachusetts
Protected areas established in 1953