Indian Will facts for kids

Indian Will was a famous Native American who lived in the 1700s. He lived near what is now Cumberland, Maryland. This area was once a home for the Shawnee Indians. While most Shawnees left before European settlers arrived, Indian Will stayed. He lived in a cabin on the side of a mountain.

Will was a well-known person in his time. People even say that Wills Creek and Wills Mountain were originally named after him.

Will's Life and Home

Historian William Harrison Lowdermilk wrote about Indian Will. He said Will was a full-blooded Native American. Will, his family, and a few followers chose to stay in their ancestral lands. Even as European settlers came, they welcomed them. They lived peacefully and became good friends with the new visitors.

Will's home was in a small, hidden valley. It was about three miles (5 km) from the mouth of Wills Creek. His home was also near a rocky area called the 'Devil's Ladder'. Records also mention that Will had a friend named Eve, who was also Native American.

How Wills Creek Got Its Name

Maryland's Governor Thomas Bladen asked Colonel Thomas Cresap to survey the land. This area was called 'Will's Town'. It seems that Will's claim to the land was respected. When early explorers built cabins there, they often gave Will small gifts. These gifts were like a payment for using his land.

As more cabins were built, the area became known as 'Will's Creek' around 1728. However, a map from 1751 shows the creek as 'Caructucue Creek'. The Native Americans knew it by this name. Over time, the original Native American name for this stream was forgotten. Today, the creek and the mountain are known as Wills Creek and Wills Mountain. The creek starts in Bedford County and flows to Cumberland.

The Story of Will's Passing

The exact date of Will's death is not fully known. Some believe it happened around the end of the American Revolutionary War. However, another account from Bedford County history tells a different story.

Around 1758, a group of Native Americans were involved in a conflict in an area now called Southampton Township. Some settlers were harmed, and some women and children were taken. It is believed that Will was part of this group. The group stopped at the southern tip of Wills Mountain to rest.

A group of neighbors and relatives followed them. They hoped to rescue the people who were taken. When they found the Native Americans, the settlers realized they were outnumbered. So, they waited to see what would happen. When the Native Americans moved on, one person did not go with them.

One of the settlers, George Powell, was determined to find justice for a neighbor. Powell quietly followed the lone Native American along the mountain. He found him on the highest northern part of the mountain, near Fort Bedford. Powell shot and killed the Native American. He then discovered it was Indian Will. Will was buried on the mountain at a place now known as Will's Knob.

Will had several children. It is said that they married European settlers. Their descendants lived near the Pennsylvania state line on Wills Creek as late as 1810.

Native American Tribes in the Area

Research into the Shawnee and Delaware tribes helps us understand Will's background. An early group of Shawnee arrived in Pennsylvania in 1692. They came from Kentucky and Tennessee. They had permission from Pennsylvania and the Iroquois Confederacy to settle there. The Delaware tribe had lived in this area, especially the eastern part, long before the Shawnee arrived.

A map from about 1725 shows where different Native American tribes lived in Pennsylvania. The Shawnee were in the east, southeast, and south-central areas. The Delaware were in the east, central, southwestern, and western parts of the state. Because of this, Indian Will could have been born into either the Shawnee or Delaware tribe. He might also have been a descendant of tribes who lived in the Potomac Valley.