Native Americans

Before Wenham was Wenham and before colonizers arrived in Massachusetts, there were people already living here. Native Americans lived all throughout North America, and each group, or tribe, had their own language, culture and lifestyle. The area we now know as Wenham would have been home to Algonquin speaking Native Americans, including, but not limited to, the Agawam, Pawtucket and Massachusett people. Native Americans living in Massachusetts were very familiar with the land and knew how to use it. Corn, beans and squash, sometimes called the Three Sisters, grew well in the region. In the early 1600s when colonists started arriving in Massachusetts, they brought dieses that indigenous people were not immune to, and many would die because of this, especially in the Wenham area. There were many land disputes between Indigenous populations and colonists, and there is one particular case that happens in Wenham in 1700. In that year, three heirs to Masconomet, Sagamore and Agawam claimed land in Wenham and surrounding towns. A meeting would occur, and a deed made up for the three individuals to receive land. The deed was lost for over 100 years, until 1845 when a man named Amos Brown would bring a suit against the town for a piece of land. The deed ended up in the Massachusetts State House archives and rediscovered in 1968. A photocopy was given to Wenham. Learning about Native histories is always a good reminder to remember who was living in North American before we take our lessons on colonists, the American Revolution, or anything else.  

This interactive map shows where different Indigenous terretorites, land and languages were located around the world. 

Images: A necklace made by Indigenous people, a box-birchback that was woven together with either reed or straw, varying sizes and types of arrowheads.