Maanexit (also spelled Manexit or Mayanexit) was a

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

village on the

Quinebaug River The Quinebaug River is a river in south-central Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut, with watershed extending into western Rhode Island. The name "Quinebaug" comes from the southern New England Native American term, spelled variously , , etc ...

( Maanexit River) and

Old Connecticut Path The Old Connecticut Path was the Native American trail that led westward from the area of Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River Valley, the first of the North American trails that led west from the settlements close to the Atlantic seacoast, ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. The town was located near what is now Fabyan in

Thompson, Connecticut Thompson is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town was named after Sir Robert Thompson, an English landholder. The population was 9,189 at the 2020 census. Thompson is located in the northeastern corner of the state and i ...

and

Woodstock, Connecticut Woodstock is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History 17th century In the mid-17th century, John Eliot (m ...

. The name of the town means either "where the road lies" or "where we gather" which may have been "alluding to a settlement of Christian Indians in the immediate vicinity." The village became an Indian

praying town Praying towns were a settlements established by English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. The Native people who moved into these towns were known as Praying I ...

through the influence of John Eliot and

Daniel Gookin Major-General Danyell “Daniel” Gookin (1612 – 19 March 1687) was a Munster colonist, settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of American Indians. Early life He was born, perhaps in County Cork, Ireland, in the ...

. Maanexit was located six miles north of Quinnatisset, another praying town, and Maanexit had about one hundred residents prior to

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 ...

. In September 1674 Rev. John Eliot visited the village and preached about and then appointed a Native American pastor John Moqua as Maanexit's teaching pastor for the

Praying Indians Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario, and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by the term, but it is more commonly ...

there. After King Philip's War

Black James Black James (before 1640-circa 1686) (also known as Wullumahchein) was a Nipmuc constable and spiritual leader of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck at the Chaubunagungamaug Reservation in colonial Massachusetts and Connecticut. Daniel Gookin appointed ...

deeded some of the land making up the village to white settlers. Connole, ''The Indians of the Nipmuck Country in Southern New England,'' 111, 162, 164, 236

References

{{reflist Aboriginal title in the United States Assimilation of indigenous peoples of North America Christianization History of New England King Philip's War Native American Christianity Native American history Native American history of Connecticut