Fort Ninigret is a historic fort and
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
site at Fort Neck Road in
Charlestown, Rhode Island
Charlestown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 7,997 at the 2020 census.
History
Charlestown is named after King Charles II, and was incorporated in 1738. The area was formerly part of the town ...
, built and occupied by European settlers in the seventeenth century. At its 1883 dedication, Commissioner George Carmichael, Jr. referred to it as "the oldest military post on the Atlantic coast."
History
Archaeological excavations have shown that people lived on Fort Neck long before the Europeans arrived, although this was never a large village. But around 1620, many
Niantic Niantic may refer to:
* Niantic people, tribe of American Indians
* Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go''
Ships
* ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush
*USS ''Ni ...
people settled at this place (cousins and allies of the larger
Narragansett tribe
The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983.
The tribe was nearly lan ...
), growing corn, making
wampum
Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...
, and trading with the Dutch and English Colonists for such things as beads, pipes, and copper kettles.
Ninigret
Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
, for whom the fort was named, was the sachem of the Niantics by the 1630s.
Most historians believe that the fort was built by the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
or by
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
explorers prior to 1637, in addition to the earlier trading post on nearby
Dutch Island. One of the first printed references to Dutch forts in Rhode Island was Samuel Arnold's 1858 ''History of the State of Rhode Island''.
In 1921−22, a European sword and cannon were found at an Indian cemetery near the site, along with many other goods which demonstrate that this was a European fort. The artifacts are now in the possession of the
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island. Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island.
History
Found ...
.
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
(1675–76) cemented Colonial rule over most of the Indian lands of Rhode Island, but a reservation was set aside for the tribe encompassing much of today's Charlestown. Many Narragansetts had joined Ninigret's people for safety, and soon the name ''Niantic'' fell out of use. At Fort Ninigret, tribal members lived in
wigwam
A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...
s into the 18th century. Nearby stood the European-style house of the sachems, who sold off tribal property to the Colonists to pay their debts. By the 19th century, Fort Neck was the last piece of land held in common by the Narragansett tribe which had access to salt water.
In 1883, the state abolished relations with the tribe, instead conferring upon its members the rights and duties of US citizenship. As part of this process, the state transformed the remains of Fort Ninigret into a monument to the 250 years of positive relations between the Narragansett Indians (and their modern descendants) with their non-Indian neighbors. The state reshaped the earthen banks of the fort, under the direction of the commissioners of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, planted evergreens, and erected an iron fence along the outlines of the old fort. A boulder was moved from the nearby hills and inscribed with these words:
Fort Ninigret
Memorial of the Narragansett and Niantic Indians
Unwavering Friends and Allies of Our Fathers
Erected by the State of Rhode Island
Dwight R. Adams, William P. Sheffield, Jr., George Carmichael, Jr.: Comrs
1883 [Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1883. Henry Ward, Secretary]
/ref>
Gideon L. Ammons and Joshua H. Noka spoke at the monument's dedication, both members of the Indian Council.
In 1983, the federal government acknowledged that the Narragansetts were still alive and well in Rhode Island, and they were once again recognized as a tribe. Today Fort Ninigret is maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Charlestown Historical Society.
Fort Ninigret was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1970. Archaeological excavations were conducted there during the 1970s by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission and by archaeologists from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Images
Image:Fort Ninigret in Charlestown RI 1.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2008
Image:Fort Ninigret in Charlestown RI 2.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2008
Image:Fort Ninigret in Charlestown RI 3.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2008
Image:Fort Ninigret in Charlestown RI 4.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2008
Image:Fort Ninigret in Charlestown RI 5.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2008
Image:Fort Ninigret in 2018.jpg, Fort Ninigret in 2018
Image:Tautog Cove from Fort Ninigret.jpg, Tautog Cove in Ninigret Pond
Ninigret is a coastal lagoon in Charlestown, Rhode Island, in the United States, located at . It is the largest of the nine lagoons, or "salt ponds", in southern Rhode Island. It is utilized for recreational activities, as well as oyster and quaho ...
, from Fort Ninigret
See also
*
References
External links
*dead lin
Fort Ninigret information
{{authority control
Former Dutch colonies
Ningret
Fur trade
1637 establishments in North America
State parks of Rhode Island
Ninigret
Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
Buildings and structures in Charlestown, Rhode Island
Ninigret
Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
Ningret
National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island