Anawan Rock is a colonial historic site in
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many historic sites i ...
. It is a large dome of
conglomerate rock (
puddingstone) located off Winthrop Street (
U.S. Route 44) in a wooded site reached by a short footpath. The site was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
History
On August 28, 1676,
Captain Benjamin Church
Benjamin Church (c. 1639 – January 17, 1718) was New England military leader and captain of the first ranger force in America (1675).John Grenier. ''The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier.'' Cambridge University Press. 20 ...
and his group of colonial soldiers captured
Anawan, the war chief of the
Pocasset People
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
. He was an old man at the time, and a chief captain of
Metacomet, who had been captured and killed by the colonists two weeks earlier. The capture of Anawan marked the final event in
King Philip's War. Although Church promised to spare Anawan's life upon his capture, he was ultimately executed by colonial officials. Anawan Rock is one of the few physical sites from the war still intact.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Massachusetts
References
External links
The Spirit of Anawan Rock
National Register of Historic Places in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Geography of Bristol County, Massachusetts
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
King Philip's War
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