August 1994
William Cronon (1983,pps. 65-66 ) discussed the New England Native Americans' concepts of land use and ownership, and the reflection of these concepts in the type of placenames given to locations important in their world. Rarely were places named after the owner of the land, as in English place nomenclature, but rather after the resources available, a feature of the land important to travel, or the optimum activity at that location. These "ecological lables" would seem to give a picture of the movement of Native Americans across the land during their lives and of those things they felt to be necessary to note.
This may well have been so at contact, but the transportation of names by the English, to whom meanings may not have been as important as the exotic sound of the Native name, could have robbed remnant Algonquian placenames of their relevance to the environment. Could modern placenames still sketch a map of Native American life three hundred or more years ago?
Because of environmental changes in the last several hundred years (Cronon, 1983), only broad estimates were possible concerning the appropriateness of the placenames to their locations. Fortunately, correlations with possible past environments could often be made by looking at a present one.
Placenames for this project were collected from modern maps, placename references, and the locator file at the Office of the Connecticut State Archeologist. These placenames were translated into English and located on maps according to their present locations. The present environment was then evaluated for correlations between the meaning of the name and the environment. Locations of placenames were checked against early descriptions of New England in order to correct any transpositions of names from their geographical origins. When the name did not relate to the present environment, attempts were made to trace the name to the nearest likely location, although the accuracy would necessarily be questionable. Only those placenames which could be translated into English were considered and only those translations usable as locational markers were used to determine possible subsistence data.
It is a village at the northeastern corner of Hampton and has been so since 1774 (Hughes and Morse, 1976,pg. 232). Chandler's Survey of 1705 describes this as a meadow with flags (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 1) at the southeastern corner of Eastford (Hughes and Morse, 1976, pg. 120), which is just over the town line from the village and is a generally swampy area.
[2] Aspinook means "at the high place" (Huden, 1962, pg.33) (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 6).
Aspinook is the name of a pond in Canterbury and has an elevation of less than 120 feet above sea level. In 1708 it was the name of a plain east of the house belonging to a Lieut. Aspinwall in Killingly, but in 1699 it was the valley of the Quinnebaug River from the Putnam Great Falls to Lake Mashapaug (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 6). Before that it was the Native name for the Quinnebaug River (Weaver, 1980, pg. 4).
[3] Ekonk is "bend or turn" (Huden,1962, pg. 65).
It is now a ridge in Sterling and may have served as a Mohegan/Nipmuck territorial marker (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 14). It is also a village in the same town. In 1833, it was the name of a brook in Plainfield (Hughes and Morse, 1976, pg. 452), as it is today. The brook has a pronounced crook in it near Hopkins Hill and has many twists and turns throughout its length.
[4] Mashamoquet appears to mean "big fish place" (Trumbull, 1870, pg. 18)(Masthay, 1987, pps. 14-15). Williams lists a term, machemoqut, "it smells ill", [Wood's matchemauquot, "it stinketh"] which is too similar to ignore( Williams, 1973ed., pg.222) (Wood, 1977ed., pg. 119 ). Dead fish, the best condition in which to eat them, can certainly stink. Huden suggests "at the important fishing place" or "bad fish here" (1962, pps. 86,98 ). His second choice could as easily read "bad fishing here".
It is now a state park and a brook near Pomfret.
[5] Either "big tree" or "many trees" is the meaning of Mashentuck (Huden, 1962,pg. 99).
In Windham County this is a mountain or a brook in Killingly.
[6] Natchaug may be "open place between" (Green and Sachse, 1983, pg. 77)(Masthay, 1987, pg. 13). This is substantiated by Trumbull"s "between rivers" ( Trumbull, 1870, pg33), although there is no root for river in the word.
It was originally the land between Bigelow and Still Rivers, in Eastford and Woodstock, and the forest there was within the hunting territory of the Indians (Nipmuck) from Wabbaquassett (Dodd, 1988, pg. 94). It is now a state forest , which is vaguely in or near the area described above, and a river. Parts of the forest lie in several towns.
[7] Nipmuck means "fresh water fishing place" (Masthay, 1987, pg. 14) and is the name of a tribe.
It now is a state forest near Woodstock and is within what was once the territory of the Nipmuck.
[8] Obwebetuck may originally have been ocquebituck, which could mean "top of a tree" or "separated from river" (Huden, 1962, pg. 153), unless it means "at the end of the river" (Hughes and Morse, 1976, pg. 735).
Trumbull thought it was originally auquebatuck, which lay near the Windham - Lebanon border ( Trumbull, 1881, pps. 7, 41). It is now a hill near there on the Shetucket River or a nearby brook. The brook is near the end of the Shetucket where it branches to become the Natchaug and the Willimantic Rivers.
[9] Patchaug means "turning open place" (Green and Sachse, 1983, pg. 86)(Masthay, 1987, pg. 13). Huden also says it means "the turning place" (1962, pg. 161 ).
It is now a state forest near Voluntown in Windham County, but is also a village and a lake in New London County (Huden, 1962, pg. 161) which are more likely to be possible originating places for the name.
[10] Huden gives "bend in river" for Quaddick, which may once have been pottaquattic, "at the round hill" , or pattaquottuck, "round hill near the river" (1962, pps. 172, 202).
Now it is a state forest, a state park, a village since 1881 (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 45), a reservoir, and a rounded mountain in Thompson at the edge of the reservoir near Brandy Brook.
[11] Quanduck means "long river (Masthay, 1987, pps. 13-14).
On modern maps it is a brook which begins in Killingly, wanders off into Rhode Island, returns to Connecticut in Sterling, meanders across the entire width of that town, and heads west into Plainfield.
[12] Quinnatisset becomes "long small place" (Masthay, 1987, pps. 13,15) or "little long river" (Huden, 1962, pg. 208).
It is a country club, a pond and a brook in Thompson. In 1713 it was a tract of land between early Killingly and the present Massachussetts state line described as a vast wilderness (Weaver, 1980, pg. 16). In 1674 it was a 'praying town' in Pomfret(Jennings, 1975, pg. 251).
[13] Quinebaug is "long watery open place" (Masthay, 1987, pg.13), or more succinctly, "long pond" (Huden, 1962, pg. 208).
The original name of the town of Putnam (Hughes and Morse, pps. 259, 475 ), Quinebaug is now a river, a brook, a falls, and a Killingly pond much longer than it is wide.
[14] For Shetucket, there is a choice of "land between rivers" or "at the great river" ( Huden, 1962, pg. 230).
Shetucket is the name of a river, but could originally have been the land along the river between the Yantic and Quinnebaug Rivers (Trumbull, 1870, pg.33).
[15] Susquehanna could be "swampy red river"(Hughes and Morse,1976, pg. 763)(Trumbull, 1870, pps. 12-13) (Wood, 1977ed., pg. 121), but the root for river in this case is not common to New England Algonquian (Trumbull, 1870, pg. 12) so this is probably a modern import from elsewhere.
Susquehanna is a plain in Windham County.
[16] It has been suggested that Susquetonscut means "place of red ledges" (Huden, 1962, pg. 243), however it may more accurately mean "swampy red rock place" (Hughes and Morse, 1976,pg. 763) (Wood, 1977ed., pg. 121) (Masthay, 1987, pg. 13)(Green and Sachse, 1983, pg. 88)
It is a brook near Willimantic.
[17] Huden's "at the great hill" is the meaning of Tatnic (1962, pg. 247 ) (Masthay, 1987, pps13, 15).
It is a brook and a large hill with a gentle slope and an elevation of 520 feet above sea level in Brooklyn.
[18] Wappaquasset is "place covered with rush matting" (Masthay, 1987, pg. 16)
Now it is a pond in Woodstock, but in 1674 it was listed by Gookin as one of the Nipmuck 'praying towns' (Jennings, 1975, pg. 251).
[19] Wappaquia is said to mean "white feather or plume" (Williams, pg. 16) (Masthay, 1987, pg. 13 ) (Huden, 1962, pg. 270). It is probable that this was from Webaquian's name (Trumbull, 1881, 78), although it is easy to imagine it was originally wompatuckquauog, "goose" (probably the white snow goose) (Williams, 1973ed., pg. 164).
It is a brook running through a swamp and a pond in Pomfret which are, ironically, both perfect geese habitats.
[20] Wauregan apparently means "a pleasant thing" (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 79), which is difficult to ascertain from a map. That is not a problem because it is not an Indian placename. It was taken from Sam Uncas's gravestone in the Mohegan cemetary in Norwich to name a manufacturing company (Trumbull, 1881, pg. 79).
Wauregan is now the name of a village in Plainfield .
[21] Willimantic is "good cedar swamp" (Huden, 1962, pg. 287), "good deep river", "good lookout place", or "place of beautiful scenery" (Hughes and Morse, 1976, pg. 692).
Willimantic is a town, a reservoir, and a river bounded by swamps along the southwestern boundary of town. Extensive damming of the river where it passes through town (Dodd,1988, pps. 154-155) makes it impossible to tell if it ever was particularly deep and development has destroyed any beauty the Algonquians may have seen there, or any good lookout places.
The results of this study have been placed on a map of Windham county and reveal a usable, if sketchy, guide to the landscape.
In the Northwest corner of the county is the open place between rivers (Natchaug), perhaps a clue to the termination of the Natchaug River to the south.
In the Southwest corner is the swampy red rock place (Susquetonscut), a place to find deer, geese, and ducks (Martin et al, 1951, pp. 47-77, 268-270); and red rocks possibly good for grinding into paint powder. Also here, Obwebituck signals the end of the great river ( the Shetucket), which is important information for canoists traveling upstream.
In the Southeast portion of the county is Ekonk, the waterway with serious bends in it where canoists may prefer to portage rather than follow the stream. The long river (Quanduck) to the northeast of Ekonk provides access to many places without the canoist needing to leave the waterway.
Further to the north is the long pond (Quinnebaug), where one can find good fishing and travel a good way north and south on the same body of water. A brook yet further north leads one to the place of many trees (Mashentuck), where one can expect to find upland game birds (Martin et al, 1951, pp. 94-112); and wood for tools, buildings, and fuel.
In the Northeast part of the county is the little long river (Quinnatisset) which may be too shallow for canoing in the dry parts of the year but will provide an extensive travel way in other seasons. Here also is the place of the round hill near the water (Quaddick) where one can fortify oneself in times of trouble and be within easy reach of a water supply, or simply climb up and take a look around without traveling far from the water when canoing.
To the west, in the north-central portion of the county, is the place covered with reed matting (Wappaquasset), either a village or, more probably, a good place to gather supplies for reed matting. Just south is the important fishing place (Mashamoquet) and further south is Appaquag, another good place to find reeds for mats.
In the center of the county is the place at the great hill, (Tatnic), where one can benefit from all that an upland area near a brook would have to offer.
1983 Changes in the Land; Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, Hill and Wang, New York, NY.
Dodd, Samual G.
1988 Joshua's Tract Walk Book, Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust, Willimantic,CT.
Green, Eugene and William Sachse
1983 Names of the Land, The Globe Pequot Press, Chester, CT.
Huden, John C.
1962 Indian Place Names of New England, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, NY.
Hughes, Arthur H. and Allen S. Morse
1976 Connecticut Place Names, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT.
Jennings, Francis
1975 The Invasion of America; Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, NY.
Martin, Alexander C., Herbert S. Zim, and Arnold L. Nelson,
1951 American Wildlife & Plants, Dover Publications, Inc., New York.
Masthay, Carl
1987 "New England Indian Place Names", Rooted Like the Ash Trees, New England Indians and the Land, Eagle Wing Press, Inc., Naugatuck, CT.
Trumbull, J. Hammond
1870 The Composition of Indian Geographical Names Illustrated from the Algonkin Languages, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT.
1881 Indian Names of Places etc., in and on the Borders of Connecticut,Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT.
Weaver, Margaret
1980 Perspectives of Putnam, A History of Putnam, CT, Wimco Printing, Inc., Putnam, CT.
Williams, Roger
1973 A Key Into the Language of America, John J. Teunissen and Evelyn J. Hinz, eds., Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Mich.
Wood, William
1987 New England's Prospect, Alden T, Vaughan, ed., University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA.
archnet@asu.edu