Posted on April 9, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
Written by Betty Slade, 2021 This story about John Stevens is that of a family of color whose father came to America from Africa in the mid-19th century not as a slave but as a free man. He arrived just before the Civil War in Westport Point, Massachusetts. He married a Native American woman and […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 18, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
This map was compiled from information in the collection of the Westport Historical Society. We welcome corrections and comments. The map dates from 1871. Acoaxet (Accohquesse, Acokus, Cockset) – Place of the small hill or the land on the other side of the little land Cocoest Davol Pond, Westport Harbor Contesawaocsetor […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 12, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
“Like the fleeting years and days, Like all things that soon decay, Pass the Indian tribes away.” (Daniel Ricketson, History of New Bedford, 1858) This lamentation was written by Daniel Ricketson, local historian, in 1858. Was Ricketson unaware of the many Native Americans living at the time in Dartmouth, whose ancestors had survived war and […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 15, 2018 by Jenny ONeill
Native Americans of Dartmouth and Westport A Presentation by R. Andrew Pierce Westport Historical Society January 13, 2018 Select Bibliography Akin, Benjamin of Dartmouth, Mass. Account Book. Ms 204, Dubois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Boston Evening Post, 26 May 1738, story about Dartmouth squaw killing her infant daughter, she was committed to Bristol […]
Continue ReadingPosted on December 28, 2017 by Jenny ONeill
The best-known citizen of Westport is Paul Cuffe, a master mariner with African and Indian roots who rose to prominence as a captain, ship-builder, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for civil rights and school integration. Less well known is Pardon Cook, also an accomplished master mariner from Westport, who commanded more whaling voyages than any other […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 28, 2014 by Jenny ONeill
Westport’s recorded histories contain numerous references to Native American settlement and activity areas and the existing archaeological record for the town supports this presence. Native people who utilized Westport’s abundant natural resources most likely remained in the area well into the historic period, especially given the slow and highly dispersed colonial settlement within the present-day […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 10, 2014 by Jenny ONeill
Contact Period (1500–1620) The first documented accounts of Native and non-Native interactions along the shores and harbors of Old Dartmouth (the original territory from which Westport was subdivided) indicate that these areas were inhabited by Native American groups affiliated with the Wampanoag tribe (Denison 1879; Ellis 1892; Howland 1907). The MHC (1982) notes a large […]
Continue ReadingPosted on September 24, 2010 by Jenny ONeill
This project was supported by Community Preservation Act funds granted by Westport Community Preservation Committee http://www.westport-ma.com/cpc/index.html Project work completed by Christa M. Beranek and Katharine M. Johnson Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston Introduction The Waite-Kirby-Potter House has long been considered important as one of Westport’s oldest buildings, and it is depicted […]
Continue ReadingPosted on December 1, 2004 by Greg Stone
Westport Roads We drive them all the time, but rarely give a thought to the roads of Westport. And yet they are of historical interest for a number of reasons. A quick glance at the map on p. 23 of A look at Westport through four centuries (available through the Historical Society or at Partners […]
Continue ReadingPosted on March 17, 2004 by Bill Wyatt
This poem was written by Charlotte White, half black, half Native American, and was born in 1775. Charlotte White Rd. is named after her. You can see a picture of her in our “Westport Enters its Fifth Century” p. 57.
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