Nonotuck Before 1650
Native people have lived in the Connecticut River Valley for about 11,000 years. This place was called Nonotuck and the people who lived here were an autonomous group called the Nonotuck.
On the bluffs overlooking the Mill and Connecticut Rivers, the Nonotuck lived in wigwam villages, which they moved seasonally. They planted corn on the fertile floodplain of the Connecticut River and burned the fields and the forest undergrowth for ease of movement and visibility of game. They used the land communally and did not build permanent structures.
They traveled a network of trails and canoe routes across the region and beyond for trade, diplomacy, kinship, and social connections with other Native communities.
On the bluffs overlooking the Mill and Connecticut Rivers, the Nonotuck lived in wigwam villages, which they moved seasonally. They planted corn on the fertile floodplain of the Connecticut River and burned the fields and the forest undergrowth for ease of movement and visibility of game. They used the land communally and did not build permanent structures.
They traveled a network of trails and canoe routes across the region and beyond for trade, diplomacy, kinship, and social connections with other Native communities.
When the English first arrived, the Nonotuck traded corn, wampum, and beaver pelts for English cloth, coats, and metals. Trade with the English and beaver trapping led to competition and tension among Native groups. Political alliances became unstable.
In agreements with the English about land use, the Nonotuck intended to retain rights to fish, gather, plant, and set up wigwams in traditional places. Instead the English forced them out.
Many Nonotuck relocated to the refugee village of Schaghticoke, northeast of Albany, and to settlements around Lake Champlain and in the Saint Lawrence Valley. They kept ties to their homelands and returned to visit over generations. Others remained on the edge of town, and some descendants live here today.
In agreements with the English about land use, the Nonotuck intended to retain rights to fish, gather, plant, and set up wigwams in traditional places. Instead the English forced them out.
Many Nonotuck relocated to the refugee village of Schaghticoke, northeast of Albany, and to settlements around Lake Champlain and in the Saint Lawrence Valley. They kept ties to their homelands and returned to visit over generations. Others remained on the edge of town, and some descendants live here today.
Northampton in 1720
Northampton is located on the Nonotuck homelands.
Since the early 1600s, English traders and explorers who traveled the Connecticut River were attracted by the Nonotuck land. They prized the fertile floodplain, which they called the Meadows. They saw the adjacent old growth forests that Native people had cleared of underbrush and the smaller river that could power a grain and saw mill. In 1653, English colonists from Springfield and river towns in Connecticut planned a settlement at Nonotuck and negotiated a land contract with the Nonotuck. The next year, about thirty English families moved into the town they named after Northampton, England. Their first houses were built on Bartlett's Lane, now Pleasant Street. They renamed the Nonotuck land features, established boundaries, and distributed parcels of land to individual owners. they created an English space.
Since the early 1600s, English traders and explorers who traveled the Connecticut River were attracted by the Nonotuck land. They prized the fertile floodplain, which they called the Meadows. They saw the adjacent old growth forests that Native people had cleared of underbrush and the smaller river that could power a grain and saw mill. In 1653, English colonists from Springfield and river towns in Connecticut planned a settlement at Nonotuck and negotiated a land contract with the Nonotuck. The next year, about thirty English families moved into the town they named after Northampton, England. Their first houses were built on Bartlett's Lane, now Pleasant Street. They renamed the Nonotuck land features, established boundaries, and distributed parcels of land to individual owners. they created an English space.
In the first few years, the English depended on the Nonotuck for grain. But by the 1660s, when the English became self-sufficient and as their population grew, they began to ignore agreements with the Nonotuck. Trade continued but the English often insisted that the Nonotuck clear debts by further sale of their land.
During King Philip's War in the 1670s, the Nonotuck allied with nearby Native people and with the Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett to regain their homelands. At war's end, the only alternative open to the Nonotuck was to disperse to the west and north. The English had made Nonotuck their own.
During King Philip's War in the 1670s, the Nonotuck allied with nearby Native people and with the Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett to regain their homelands. At war's end, the only alternative open to the Nonotuck was to disperse to the west and north. The English had made Nonotuck their own.