Archaeologist Holly Herbster discusses her research on one of seven original \u201cPraying Towns\u201d established in 1669 by missionary John Eliot. Colonial records tie specific Native people to the archaeological remains of the original meeting house and the importance of this place within Nipmuc homelands. Ongoing collaborative research with Nipmuc descendants is carrying this story forward.<\/p>\n
The Magunkaquog community was one of seven original \u201cPraying Towns\u201d established by missionary John Eliot in Massachusetts Bay. Recognized in 1669, Magunkaquog was a gathering place for Nipmuc people until Harvard\u2019s purchase of the land in 1715. Seventeenth and early eighteenth-century documents identify several Native people who were associated with Magunkaquog, including Isaac Nehemiah, who committed suicide the day after Harvard\u2019s takeover. These individuals and their families become difficult to trace after 1715 when the community was \u201cdissolved\u201d and associations with Magunkaquog are harder to find in the documentary record. Senior Archaeologist Holly Herbster will discuss how Magunkaquog\u2019s history was carried forward, and how collaborative research with Nipmuc descendants is giving this history a future.<\/p>\n
Holly Herbster<\/strong> is a senior archaeologist\/principal investigator with The Public Archaeology Lab, PAL, a cultural resource management firm in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where, among other responsibilities, she is responsible for the supervision of all phases of archaeological fieldwork in New England and the Northeast. Her research focus includes documentary and ethno-historic studies and she has collaborated extensively with Native American groups in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In-person and streamed\u2014All programs are free but require registration here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014 All programs are free but require registration here<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Friends of Pine Hawk 2022 Fall Programs are presented with support from the Acton Memorial Library<\/a> and Freedom\u2019s Way National Heritage Area, in collaboration with the Sargent Memorial Library<\/a> of Boxborough<\/a> and the Littleton Historical Society.<\/p>\n