Massaco

The Farmington River was one of the Massaco's chief fishing grounds
Further information: Simsbury, Connecticut

The Massaco were a Native American indigenous people who inhabited the Simsbury, Connecticut, area. One of the eighteen bands of the Wappinger, they lived near but mostly west of what is now called the Farmington River in the area now known as Simsbury and Canton.[1]

The Wappinger were not organized formally as a tribe, more of an association, like the Delaware. Their bands lived between the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. The Wappingers were one of the Algonquian peoples, a linguistic grouping which includes hundreds of tribes.[2]

The Massaco were first encountered by Dutch settlers at the beginning of the 17th century, who referred to the river where they dwelt as the Massaco. Over time, the term Massaco came to refer to the indigenous peoples, the river itself, the village occupied by the indigenous peoples, and the land adjacent to the river.[3]

The land of the Massaco was subsequently purchased by the Dutch. This and its settlement during the era of the Connecticut Colony are described at in the early history of Simsbury.

Notes

  1. ↑ "New York Indian Tribes". Access Genealogy.com. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ Trelease, p. 4–9.
  3. ↑ "Phelps Family History in America". Phelps Family History. Retrieved September 30, 2010.

References