Ponkapoag facts for kids
Ponkapoag /ˈpɒŋkəpɔːɡ/, also Punkapaug, Punkapoag, or Punkapog, is the name of a Native American "praying town" settled in the late 17th century western Blue Hills area of eastern Massachusetts by persons who had accepted Christianity. It was established in 1657, during the colonization of the Atlantic seaboard of the United States by settlers from Britain. This was the name given to the winter residence (and subsequently to the tribe) of the group of Massachusett who lived at the mouth of the Neponset River near Dorchester in the summer, in what colonists called Neponset Mill.
Ponkapoag is now contained almost entirely by the town of Canton, Massachusetts. The name is derived from a nearby pond 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Great Blue Hill; Ponkapoag means "shallow pond" or "a spring that bubbles from red soil".
History
Ponkapoag Plantation was established in 1657 as a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha) town parcel formed from Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the second Christianized native settlement, or "Praying Town" in Massachusetts, after Natick was established in 1651.
In 1654 members of the Nemasket Tribe, located in the village of Cohannet in current day Bristol County, were among the first Native Americans relocated to Ponkapoag by missionaries. From 1657 to his death around 1670, Quashaamit (William) served as a teaching minister in Ponkapoag, and also deeded large parcels of land in modern day Mendon, Milford, Braintree (Quincy), and North Smithfield.
Legacy
The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag and the Praying Indians of Natick and Ponkapoag, two contemporary cultural heritage groups, are named for Ponkapoag.
