The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received December 19, 2023.
What follows is a sketch that I put together motivated by my interest in documenting the history of the Indian in the area.
Haddam Neck and Haddam Indians:
First a little background:
- Indian hierarchy: Grand Sachem; Under Sachem (usually a relative); Squaw Sachem, Powawa (medicine man)
- In early 1600s there were about 12,000-15,000 Indians in several Nations in Connecticut, but that all changed when they encountered the “White Man” because they succumbed in large numbers to smallpox. Historical fact: Columbus and other early exploiters of the Caribbean were responsible for wiping out the Native American population there.
You are probably familiar with these Indian names:
- Algonkin; Mohawks; Narragansetts; Pequots; Mohegans
Less familiar probably are these Connecticut River Valley Nations/Tribes:
- Podunks (boggy place): They were Connecticut River Valley Indians. They were also known as Sicaog/Suckiaug (black earth) and lived at Hartford at the Park River. These Indians tended to adopt the name of a locality as they moved around between Windsor and Chester. Some of the sub-group/local names were: Mantianucks at Windsor. They were also called Nawaas; Namferoke (fishing people) at East Windsor; Hockanums (a hook) at East Hartford; Pyguaugs (great island) at Wethersfield. Later, at Middletown, they were called Wangunks (bend in the river). This occurred after they had sold their land in Hartford, then Wethersfield. The Wangunks were also known under many sub-tribes/local names and continued to exist in Chatham (Portland/East Hampton) and Haddam into the eighteenth century. The Sachem at Middletown was Sowheog. His son, Terramaugus was with him at Wethersfield, and probably later at Middletown. Sowheog’s grand-son, Peetoosoh, was at Chatham in 1706. The last sachem there was Dr. Roberts, who died in 1757. He had a son Richard Ranney. The last squaw sachem was known as “Old Betty,” Mary Cuschoy, or Tike. She was living in 1772.
The Wangunks of Haddam Neck and Haddam:
- On May 20, 1662, Matthew Allyn and Samuel Willys sailed from Hartford to Haddam to finalize the purchase of Thirty Mile Plantation from the Indians. It was 104 square miles of land that extended six miles on either side of the river. Also in 1662, twenty-eight men, mostly from Hartford, signed an agreement of their intention to remove to Haddam to establish a settlement.
- Indians in the Haddam area: another of Sowheog’s sons, Montowese, may have been there. The Mattabesett were a tribe of southern Middletown and northern Haddam. In the Southwestern part of Haddam was the Cockaponsit, the area is now known simply as Ponsett. North of Haddam Center is Higganum (the tomahawk rock).
- A small sub-tribe in Haddam Neck, with no specific name that I was able to find, had a range from Hurd Park to junction of the Salmon and Connecticut Rivers. They had at least three camps along Injun Hollow Road that they moved among: Basket Shop Hill Road, East of the brook at the edge of the swamp; at the end of Injun Hollow Road, just before the meadow begins (Yankee Atomic has a parking lot over the site); and in a cave at the end of the ridge, at the junction of the Salmon and Connecticut Rivers. My ancestor built my house in 1751; he and his neighbors had contact with the Indians who still lived in Haddam Neck.
- In addition there was a famous tribe, the Machimoodus (place of noises); the area is now known simply as Moodus. The name derived from the noises that came forth from a small cave opening on Mount Tom. Moodus is part of the town of East Haddam.
This sketch was developed from a number of sources:
- The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut: 1666 – 1884, published in 1886
- History of Middlesex County, Connecticut: 1635 – 1885, published in 1885
R. Thurston Clark, Haddam Neck
