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Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian ''Schahamokink'': "place of crawfish") (
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
: Shahëmokink) was a multi-ethnic Native American trading village on the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
, located partially within the limits of the modern cities of Sunbury and Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. It should not be confused with present-day
Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") ( Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Surrounded by Coal Township at the western edge of the Anthracit ...
, located to the east. The village was the focus of missionary efforts, and then was the staging area for raids on English settlements in Pennsylvania during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...
. It was burned and abandoned by the Lenape in May, 1756. A few months later,
Fort Augusta Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution. The fort was erected by Colonel William Clapham in 1756 at ...
was constructed on the site of the village.


Etymology

"Shamokin" is usually described as derived from ''Schahamokink'' or ''Shahëmokink'', ("place of crawfish") but it may be also a variant of the Lenape term ''
Shackamaxon The Treaty of Shackamaxon, also called the Great Treaty and Penn's Treaty, was a legendary treaty between William Penn and Tamanend of the Lenape signed in 1682. Penn and Tamanend agreed that their people would live in a state of perpetual peace ...
'',Charles Augustus Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path,'' Volume 2, Putnam's sons, 1911
/ref> from the Lenape term ''Sakimauchheen Ing'' which means "to make a chief or king place" referring to the residence of the foremost Lenape
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
(''sakima'') on the Delaware River. The community is also sometimes referred to by the Iroquois name ''Otzinachson'', which was according to
Count Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major figu ...
, the name the Iroquois gave to a "large cave, in a rocky hill in the wilderness...From it, the surrounding country and the West Branch of the Susquehanna are called ''Otzinachon,'' i. e., The Demon's Den, for here the evil spirits, say the Indians, have their seats and hold their revels."Graf von Zinzendorf, Nicolaus Ludwig., Mack, John Martin. ''Memorials of the Moravian Church.'' J.B. Lippincott & Company, 1870.
/ref>


Establishment and population

The date of first human settlement is not known. Stone tools and cord-marked pottery dating to between nine thousand and fifteen hundred years ago have been found in the area. A village definitely existed by 1711, when the Shawnee chief Opessa Straight Tail reportedly fled to Shamokin after being accused of complicity in the death of Francis Le Tort, an indentured servant who had fled into the forest with several escaped slaves that he was apparently trying to help. Le Tort was indentured to the Swedish-American trader,
John Hansson Steelman John Hansson Steelman, also known as "Hance" Stillman, Stelman, Tilghman, or Tillmann (1655–1749), was born Johan Hansson in Aronameck or Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Hans Månsson (1612-1691) and Ella Olofsdotter ...
(1655–1749) (also referred to as Stelman or Tillmann), and after Steelman offered bounty to some Shawnee warriors of Opessa's tribe to bring him back dead or alive, Francis was killed.Charles Augustus Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path,'' Volume 1, Putnam's sons, 1911
/ref> Opessa took refuge in Shamokin and while there, he married Polly, Sassoonan's daughter. At least one source states that the Delaware chief Sassoonan (
Allumapees Sassoonan or Allumapees (c. 1675 - 15 October, 1747) was a Lenni Lenape chief who lived in Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th century. He was known for his negotiations with the Provincial government of Pennsylvania in several land purc ...
) was living at Shamokin as early as 1718. However, historian C. A. Weslager indicates that it was probably Shawnee migrants who first settled there.Weslager, Clinton Alfred. ''The Delaware Indians: A History.'' Rutgers University Press, 1989.
/ref> Delaware Indians displaced by German immigrants in Tulpehocken Creek Valley relocated to Shamokin in 1728.Sipe, Chester Hale. ''The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania: An Account of the Indian Events, in Pennsylvania, of the French and Indian War, Pontiac's War, Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War and the Indian Uprising from 1789 to 1795; Tragedies of the Pennsylvania Frontier Based Primarily on the Penna. Archives and Colonial Records.'' Telegraph Press, 1931.
/ref> A large population of Delaware Indians was also forcibly resettled there after 1737 when they lost rights to their land in the
Walking Purchase The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware In ...
.
Canasatego Canassatego (c. 1684–1750) was a leader of the Onondaga nation who became a prominent diplomat and spokesman of the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1740s. He was involved in several controversial land sales to colonial British officials. He is now be ...
of the Six Nations, enforcing the Walking Purchase on behalf of George Thomas, Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, ordered the Delaware Indians to go to two places on the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
, Wyomink and Shamokin. Early in the eighteenth century, the village consisted of
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
migrants from the north, as well as
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
settlers moving away from expanding white settlements in Pennsylvania, and also some Saponi and Tutelo from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
. Merrell, James H
"Shamokin, 'the very seat of the Prince of Darkness': Unsettling the Early American Frontier." In Andrew Cayton and Fredrika J. Teute, eds., ''Contact Points: American Frontiers from the Mohawk Valley to the Mississippi, 1750–1830''. University of North Carolina Press, 1998, 16–59.
A 1727 map by John Taylor, of the forks of the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
, shows Shamokin on both north and south banks of the west branch, with James Le Tort's store to the east. John Scull's store is marked on the east bank of the Susquehanna.


The Shamokin Traders

From 1727 to 1756, Shamokin was one of the largest and most influential Indian settlements in Pennsylvania. Traders John Petty and Henry Smith had a trading post at Shamokin as early as 1728, as did Samuel Cozzens, John Hart, John Fisher, Timothy Higgins, Jonah Davenport, Alexander and Jack Armstrong, Woodworth Arnold, James Smith, John Scull and his brother
Nicholas Scull II Nicholas Scull II (1687–1761) was an American surveyor and cartographer. He served as Surveyor General of Pennsylvania from 1748 to 1761. Early life Nicholas Scull II was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His Irish-born father, surveyor Ni ...
, and Anthony Sadowski. James Le Tort established a trading post nearby, at Le Tort's Spring. These early traders are sometimes referred to as "the Shamokin Traders." Life as an Indian trader was dangerous and unpredictable. Anthony Sadowski wrote to John Petty in August, 1728 that "the Sauanos hawneeshave hanged Timothy Higgins upon a pole of their cabin," although he does not say why. Petty wrote back that, while on their way to Shamokin, they had met Higgins, who "was thought to be hanged, escapt his life very narrowly...We dare not take him ack to Shamokin" John Hart and John Fisher were accidentally shot and killed during a hunting expedition with a group of Lenapes in the fall of 1729. Jack Armstrong and his servants Woodworth Arnold and James Smith were killed in 1744 by Lenape Indians over a stolen horse. Jonah Davenport lost much of his property during violence with Indians and died in poverty near
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
. A later arrival was Thomas McKee (1695–1769), father of Indian agent Alexander McKee (1735–1799). He arrived in the area before 1735, when Alexander was born, and had two posts on the left bank of the Susquehanna, near Shamokin. He quickly became fluent in the Delaware language. The Moravian Bishop
John F. Cammerhoff John Frederick Cammerhoff (28 July 1721, in Hillersleben, Germany - 28 April 1751) was a Moravian bishop and missionary. Biography He was privately tutored at home, and then attended the school of Kloster Bergen, finally matriculating at the U ...
and
David Zeisberger David Zeisberger (April 11, 1721 – November 17, 1808) was a Moravian clergyman and missionary among the Native American tribes who resided in the Thirteen Colonies. He established communities of Munsee (Lenape) converts to Christianity in the ...
visited McKee's trading post on 13 January, 1748. In his journal the bishop wrote:
At nine-o'clock we reached Thomas McKee's, the last white settlement on the river, below Shamokin. McKee holds a captain's commission under the government; is an extensive Indian Trader; bears a good name among them; and drives a brisk trade with the Allegheny country. His wife, who was brought up among the Indians, speaks but little English. They received us with much kindness and hospitality.


Leadership

In August 1736, Chief Allumapees ( Sassoonan) visited Philadelphia and reported that "some of the Six Nations had been lately at Shamokin and had enquired kindly touching their Brethren there, towards whom they shewed much Love and Friendship."Samuel Hazard, ed., ''The Colonial Records of Pennsylvania,'' Vol. 4, Harrisburg, 1851.
Hathitrust edition.
On 18 September, The
Pennsylvania Provincial Council The Pennsylvania Provincial Council helped govern the Province of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1776. The provincial council was based on the English parliamentary system and namely the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Government of Pe ...
was informed by Conrad Weiser that "there was a large number of those People with many of their Chiefs arrived at Shamokin, on Sasquehanna." This was a diplomatic visit intended to confirm the dominance of the
Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
over the Delaware. In October over a hundred of these Iroquois met with Pennsylvania authorities at Stanton to affirm friendship and to encourage trade. The Delawares were major suppliers of furs and skins as part of the growing
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
in Pennsylvania. The
Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida ...
chief
Shikellamy Shikellamy (1680 - December 6, 1748), also spelled Shickellamy and also known as Swatana, was an Oneida chief and overseer for the Iroquois confederacy. In his position as chief and overseer, Shikellamy served as a supervisor for the Six Nations, ...
moved to Shamokin in 1737, where he served as a representative of the Iroquois, supervising Lenape affairs. He was visited there in March of that year by Conrad Weiser. Shikellamy was there when Sassoonan died at Shamokin in 1747. Shikellamy died at Shamokin on 6 December 1748, after which a faction of Delawares left and founded Tioga, Pennsylvania. Chief Shingas may have been born at Shamokin.


Visit by Count Zinzendorf, 1742

Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf visited Shamokin together with Conrad Weiser and
Anna Nitschmann Anna Caritas Nitschmann, Countess von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, (24 November 1715, Kunín, Moravia – 21 May 1760, Herrnhut, Lusatia) was a Moravian Brethren missionary (''Missionarin''), lyrical poet, and the second wife of Count Ni ...
in September, 1742, and met there with Shikellamy. The Count believed that Shikellamy, who had converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
, could serve as a vital agent of change in converting all Indians to Christianity. Shikellamy permitted the Moravians to establish a mission at Shamokin, and he served as an emissary between the Moravians and
Madame Montour Madame Montour (1667 or c. 1685 – c. 1753) was an interpreter, diplomat, and local leader of Algonquin and French Canadian ancestry. Although she was well known, her contemporaries usually referred to her only as "Madame" or " Mrs." Montour. She ...
's village of Otstonwakin at the mouth of Loyalsock Creek and French Margaret's village at the mouth of Lycoming Creek. Shikellamy permitted the Moravians to stay in his home, lent them horses for work, and helped them build their homes. He formally converted to Christianity in November 1748 at the Moravian city of
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...
. On his return journey Shikellamy became ill and died in Shamokin on December 6, 1748.


Peace negotiations, 1743

After a series of violent conflicts between Indians and white settlers,
Meshemethequater Meshemethequater (1690 or 1691–1758) also known as Big Hominy, Great Huminy, Misemeathaquatha, Missemediqueety, or Big Hannoana was a Pekowi Shawnee chief from western Pennsylvania. Although he was a respected warrior, he is best known for parti ...
, Sassoonan and other chiefs from the Six Nations (including Shikellamy), the
Tuscaroras The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They c ...
, and the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
met with
Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...
and Andrew Montour at Shamokin on 4 February, 1743, and received wampum from Weiser, who was trying to persuade the Shawnees not to attack English traders living on the Allegheny, to prevent war from erupting. Ultimately, the negotiations were successful.


Visit by Bartram and Evans, 1743

John Bartram John Bartram (March 23, 1699 – September 22, 1777) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and explorer, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for most of his career. Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus said he was the "greatest na ...
and Lewis Evans visited Shamokin in July, 1743. Bartram wrote in his journal:
July 8: We crossed the creek and rode along a rich bottom near the river for two miles...beyond which, two miles good oak land brought us to the town of Shamokin. It contains eight cabbins near the river's bank...It is by means of this neighborhood that we may reasonably hope...that a very beneficial trade may be extended...I quartered in a trader's cabbin, and about midnight the Indians came and called up him and his
squaw The English word ''squaw'' is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/ ...
...She sold the Indians rum, with which being quickly intoxicated, men and women began first to sing and then dance around the fire; then the women would run out to other cabbins and soon return, leaving the men singing and dancing the
war dance A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like setti ...
, which continued all the next day...As soon as we alighted they shewed us where to lay our baggage, and then brought us a bowl of boiled squashes cold...I had learnt not to despise good Indian food. July 9: After breakfast Lewis Evans and myself went to the point of the mountain...and having taken a pleasant view of the mountains and of the charming plain of Shamokin, 2 miles long and above one broad, skirted on the west and north by the river, and encompassed east and partly south with lofty hills...we returned to the town and dined. July 10: We departed rom Shamokinin the morning, with Shickcalamy and his son, he being the chief man in the town, which consisted of Delaware Indians...Our journey now lay through very rich bottoms to a creek, six miles from Shamokin, a great extent of fruitful low ground still continuing. Here we found a fine meadow of grass on our right, and rich dry ground on the left...peach-trees, plumbs, and excellent grapes.


Visits by Conrad Weiser, 1744-1745

In May, 1744 Conrad Weiser was sent to Shamokin to investigate the murder of Jack Armstrong, a trader, and two of his servants, after a dispute over a horse. Weiser interviewed Shikellamy and Allumapees and learned that a Lenape Indian named Mussemeelin owed Armstrong a debt, and in late 1743 Armstrong had taken Mussemeelin's horse as payment. Mussemeelin later paid Armstrong 20 shillings to settle the debt, but Armstrong refused to return the horse. Mussemeelin and two of his friends later found Armstrong and his servants clearing a road on the
Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is c ...
and killed them. Afterwards, Mussemeelin's friends told others in the village about the murder, and eventually they were arrested and made to confess. Weiser arrived on 2 May, 1744 and heard the confession. Goods that were taken from Armstrong were returned to his brother Alexander, and Mussemeelin and one of the two accomplices were handed over to Weiser, to stand trial in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
. The second accomplice was arrested, but the Indians allowed him to escape. The site of Jack Armstrong's murder, in a gorge on the Juniata River, was afterwards known as
Jacks Narrows Jacks Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending southeast of the Stone Mountain ridge and Jacks Mountain Anticline. The ridge line separates Kishacoquillas Valley from the Ferguson and Dry Valleys. Jacks ...
, and the ridge nearby is still known as
Jacks Mountain Jacks Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending southeast of the Stone Mountain ridge and Jacks Mountain Anticline. The ridge line separates Kishacoquillas Valley from the Ferguson and Dry Valleys. Jacks ...
. In September Weiser and eight other men built a house at Shamokin for Shikellamy, which he described in a 29 September letter to James Logan:
The day before yesterday I came back from Shohomokin, where I have been with eight young men of my country people, whom Shickalemy hired to build a locke house for him, and I went with them to direct them. We finished the house in 17 days; it is 49 1/2 foot long and 17 1/2 wide, and covered with singels.John Franklin Meginness, "Otzinachson: Or, a History of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna ; Embracing a Full Account of Its Settlement--trials and Privations Endured by the Early Pioneers--full Accounts of the Indian Wars, Predatory Incursions, Abductions, and Massacres, &c." in ''American County Histories: Pennsylvania county and regional histories.'' H. B. Ashmead, 1857
/ref>
The designation of "locke house" may indicate either that this was intended as a storehouse that could be locked, or possibly a jail.


Visit by Bishop Spangenberg, 1745

In June, 1745, Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, Weiser and Zeisberger visited Shamokin where they met with Shikellamy and the elderly chief Sassoonan: " pangenbergand Conrad crossed the river to visit the Indian King {Sassoonan] who lives there, and had the honor to smoke a pipe with him." The bishop described "Allummapees" as "very old, almost blind, and very poor; but withal has still power over, and is beloved by his people and is a friend of the English." Spangenberg was also informed of David Brainerd's visit to Shamokin in May. Shikellamy reported that
he Reverend Brainerdhad assembled the Delawares in Shikellmy's house, and...informed them that on Sundays they should assemble as the whites do, and pray as they do. Hence he would build a house for that purpose, and stay with them two years. That the Governor had given him orders to that effect, and he would be glad to see the Indians hearken to him. To this Shikellmy said: "We are Indians, and don't wish to be trans formed into white men. The English are our Brethren, but we never promised to become what they are. As little as we desire the preacher to become Indian, so little ought he to desire the Indians to become preachers. He should not build a house here, they don't want one."Spangenberg, A. G. "Spangenberg's Notes of Travel to Onondaga in 1745." ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' vol 2, no. 4, 1878: 424-32. Accessed July 9, 2021
/ref>
They also visited
Madame Montour Madame Montour (1667 or c. 1685 – c. 1753) was an interpreter, diplomat, and local leader of Algonquin and French Canadian ancestry. Although she was well known, her contemporaries usually referred to her only as "Madame" or " Mrs." Montour. She ...
, Andrew Montour's mother, on Shamokin Island.


Visits by David Brainerd, 1745

In May and September, 1745 Presbyterian missionary David Brainerd visited Shamokin and wrote:
Shaumoking, Sept. 1745. Sept. 13: ...Arrived at the Indian town I aimed at on the Susquehannah, called Shaumoking, one of the places and the largest of them which I visited May last. I was kindly received and entertained by the Indians but had little satisfaction by reason of the Heathenish revel they then held in the house where I was obliged to lodge...The Town lies partly on the east and the west shores of the river, and partly on the island. It contains upwards of fifty houses and three hundred inhabitants, though I never saw much more than half that number in it...About one-half are Delawares; the others, Senecas and Tutelars. The Indians of this place are accounted the most drunken, mischievous, and ruffian-like fellows of any in these parts; and Satan seems to have his seat in this town in an eminent manner. : Sept 16: Spent the forenoon with the Indians, endeavoring to instruct them from house to house, and to engage them as far as I could, to be friendly to Christianity. Towards night, went to one part of the town where they were sober, got together near fifty of them and discoursed to them, having first obtained the king's cheerful consent. There was surprising attention among them, and they manifested a considerable desire of being further instructed.


Moravian mission at Shamokin, 1747-1755

The Moravian mission in Shamokin was set up in 1747 primarily as a blacksmith’s shop to serve the Iroquois and their protected tribes, the Delaware, Tutelo, Conoy, and Shawnee.Katherine Faull, "Moravian Artisans and their Wives in the Colonial Pennsylvanian Backcountry," in ''The Shamokin Diaries 1745-1755.''
/ref> The leader of the Moravian church, Count Zinzendorf, recognized the strategic importance of Shamokin as the seat of Shikellamy, de facto leader of the Delaware. On 5 May, 1746 Conrad Weiser sent a request to the Governor of Pennsylvania stating that a blacksmith at Shamokin was urgently needed. In November the Governor responded, "The Five Nations of Indians have taken up the Hatchet against our Enemies. Therefore you may write to Mr Spangenberg that he may send People among the Indians when he will." Approval was given to establish a forge at Shamokin. In April of 1747, Shikellamy insisted to missionary John Martin Mack that any work done at the smith for the Five Nations should be without charge, saying, "I desire, ''T’girketonti'' (Spangenberg's Iroquois name) my brother, that when something is done to their flints that it is done for free, because they have nothing with which to pay. However, when they return, and they have something done, then they would have to pay for it." All other Native American customers to the smithy had to pay for their services in deer, fox, and racoon skins. In the late spring of 1747, Moravian missionaries arrived in Shamokin and discussed the blacksmith project in a conference with the chief Shikellamy and his advisors. The forge and a mission were built in June and July, 1747 and by the end of July the forge was opened. The first blacksmith, Anton Schmidt, arrived on July 23 with his wife Catharina. The diary entry for that day states, "It was as though a king had arrived, even Shikellamy was very happy." He gave Schmidt an Iroquois name, ''Rachwistonis,'' and immediately accompanied him and Hagen down the river to Harris' Ferry to collect the rest of the tools for the blacksmith's shop. The Moravian mission was strictly controlled to avoid creating a European-style settlement. Trading was limited to skins and furs and initially the missionaries were not permitted to own livestock. Some of these regulations were relaxed as the mission grew and other Europeans settled nearby. In 1754 Conrad Weiser surveyed the land near Shamokin with plans to build a new settlement in the area. In July, 1754, much of the land west of the Susquehanna was transferred from the Six Nations to Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress. However, Shamokin was not sold and was reserved by the Six Nations, "to settle such of our Nations as shall come to us from the Ohio or any others who shall deserve to be in our Alliance." According to Weslager, "the Pennsylvania authorities had no opposition to the Six Nations reserving Wyoming and Shamokin from the sale, since friendly Delawares, including Teedyuscung and his people living in those settlements--and any other Indians who might be placed there--constituted a buffer against Connecticut." The presence of the Moravian mission was viewed as an indication that the Lenape there would support the British, or at least remain neutral in any conflict with the French.


French and Indian War

The
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...
brought fighting to much of the region. The Delaware Indian residents of Shamokin remained neutral for much of the early part of the war, in part because a drought and unseasonable frost in Shamokin in 1755 left them without provisions. However, some Delaware Indians at Shamokin joined the war against Pennsylvania and the English after Braddock's defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela on 9 July, 1755. On 16 October, 1755 Lenape Indians allied with the French attacked and destroyed the town of
Penns Creek, Pennsylvania Penns Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Geography Penns Creek is located at (40.860555, -77.058207), bordered on the north by its namesake creek, Penns Creek. It lies along PA Route 104 between Middle ...
about ten miles west of Shamokin. As news of the Penn's Creek massacre spread, panic gripped the settlements. Trading post owner John Harris Jr. wrote to the governor and offered to lead an expedition upriver to try to pacify the Native Americans and find out the mindset of those at Shamokin, since the Indians there were known to be friendly to settlers. He gathered a group of 40 or 50 men and set out on 22 October. At Shamokin, they found a gathering of Lenape painted all in black who had come from the Ohio and Allegheny River Valleys. Andrew Montour, an Indian of mixed
Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida ...
, Algonquin and French ancestry, was among those painted in black but was known to Harris and often acted as an interpreter. He advised Harris to return home immediately along the east side of the Susquehanna. Harris and his men started back but disregarded Montour's warning to stay on the east side of the river. On 25 October they were ambushed by twenty or thirty Lenape, who fired on them, forcing Harris's men to jump into the river, where four of them drowned while trying to reach the opposite bank. on 28 October Harris sent a report to the governor in which he states:
The Indians are all assembling themselves at Shamokin to counsel; a large body of them were there four days ago. I cannot learn their intentions, but...there is not a sufficient number of them to oppose the enemy; and, perhaps, they will join the enemy he Frenchagainst us...At the same time, some of the Shamokin Indians seem friendly, and others appear like enemies.
In November 1755, following an attack on Gnadenhütten in which ten missionaries were killed and the church was burned, the Moravian missionaries at Shamokin, in fear of their lives, abandoned the mission and fled to
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 1 ...
. There were only about 200 warriors among the Shamokin Lenape, but their numbers were soon bolstered by approximately 700 Ohio Lenape who came east to join them in their raids. By March 1756, five months after the massacre at Penn's Creek, they had killed some 200 settlers and taken an equal number captive. Settlers across eastern Pennsylvania left their homesteads and moved to more populated areas to the south and east.Wallace, Anthony F. C. (1990) ''King of the Delawares: Teedyuscung, 1700-1763.'' Syracuse: University of Pennsylvania Press.


Abandonment, 1756

On 14 April 1756, Pennsylvania Governor
Robert Hunter Morris Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Early life and education Morris was born in ...
officially declared war on the Delaware Nation, offering a
bounty Bounty or bounties commonly refers to: * Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing Bounty or bounties may also refer to: Geography * Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
of $130 for the scalp of every Lenape male over ten years of age and $50 for a Lenape woman's scalp, or $150 for a male Lenape prisoner and $130 for a female one. Concerned over the possibility of attack, the leaders of Shamokin burned the village and the population relocated to another community on Nescopeck Creek.Hunter, William Albert. ''Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753-1758,'' (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018.
/ref> A scouting party led by George Allen visited the site on 3 June and found it abandoned.


Fort Augusta

Governor
Robert Hunter Morris Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Early life and education Morris was born in ...
ordered the construction of forts garrisoned with colonial militia, and in early 1756
Fort Augusta Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution. The fort was erected by Colonel William Clapham in 1756 at ...
, Fort Shirley,
Fort Lyttleton The Fort Lyttleton Site, located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is significant for its rich and layered artifacts and structural remains., These provide a composite view of land use since colonial times. In the 18th century and early into t ...
and Fort Granville were built. Plans to build a fort on the Susquehanna were made in late 1755, but not implemented until June 1756 when Colonel
William Clapham William Clapham (1722 – 28 May, 1763) was an American military officer who participated in the construction of several forts in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. He was considered a competent commander in engagements with French ...
and Major James Burd finally received sufficient funding and supplies to begin construction at the site of the village of Shamokin. Fort Augusta was largely completed by late August 1756. It was the largest British fort built in Pennsylvania, with earthen walls more than two hundred feet long topped by wooden fortifications.James Herbstritt, Janet Johnson and Kurt Carr, "Digging Fort Hunter’s History," ''Pennsylvania Heritage,'' Fall 2011
/ref> The fort was garrisoned by sixteen officers and 337 men and served as base for the Third Battalion, Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot, known as the Augusta Regiment, which was originally formed to build and garrison Fort Augusta.
/ref> On November 4, 1756, Colonel Clapham ordered a raid on Great Island (
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
) to destroy the Indians there,C. Hale Sipe, ''The Indian chiefs of Pennsylvania, or, A story of the part played by the American Indian in the history of Pennsylvania : based primarily on the Pennsylvania archives and colonial records, and built around the outstanding chiefs'' Ziegler Printing Co., Inc. Butler, PA, 1927
/ref> who formerly lived at Shamokin and were reportedly under French influence.


Archaeological investigations

Archaeological investigations conducted in 1978 and 1979 on a vacant property (called the Charles Cobler property) just north of the Hunter House found large amounts of fill materials associated with the fort's construction and its demolition."Excavations of a Frontier Fort," ''This Week In Pennsylvania Archaeology,'' Friday, August 14, 2015 Below this, archaeologists uncovered the remains of the village of Shamokin and even earlier prehistoric occupations. Numerous Native American artifacts, dating mainly to the Archaic and Middle Woodland periods between nine thousand and fifteen hundred years ago, were recovered. These consisted of stone tools, spear points, cord-marked pottery, and large cooking hearths.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares fo ...
archaeologists also found gunflints, musket balls, broken glass, white clay pipe fragments, and a variety of metal objects, many of which can be dated to the mid-eighteenth century. Portions of a
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade ...
wall, a trench, and a dry moat were discovered and artifacts such as burned cow, sheep, pig, and horse bones, gun parts, buttons, cannon balls, and glazed colonial ceramics as well as fragments of iron and brass,
slag Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-p ...
, charcoal, worked gun parts, stone from a foundation, and highly oxidized soil indicated the presence of a blacksmith shop. This shop was identified as that constructed by the Moravian missionaries who lived at Shamokin until 1755."Excavations of a Frontier Fort," ''This Week In Pennsylvania Archaeology,'' Friday, August 14, 2015


Great Shamokin Path

The
Great Shamokin Path The Great Shamokin Path (also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major Native American trail in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania that ran from the native village of Shamokin (modern-day Sunbury) along the left bank of the West Branch Susquehann ...
(also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major Native American trail in Pennsylvania that ran from Shamokin along the left bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River north and then west to the Great Island (near modern-day Lock Haven). There it left the river and continued further west to
Chinklacamoose Chinklacamoose, spelled many ways, was an old Native American village located at what is now Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The village existed from the early 1st century until around the mid to late 17th century. The village was about halfway along t ...
(what is now the borough of Clearfield) and finally Kittanning on the
Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...
. Pennsylvania was criss-crossed with well-traveled trails, as navigation by canoe was impractical due to the lack of the canoe birch (''
Betula papyrifera ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper li ...
''), which does not grow in the area. Eleven major Indian paths or trade routes led into Shamokin: The Bottom Path, the Catawissa Path, the Great Island Path, the Great Shamokin Path, the Great Warriors Path, the
Paxtang Paxtang is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,640. The borough is a suburb of Harrisburg and is one of the earliest colonial settlements in South Central Pennsylvania. Histo ...
Path, the Penns Creek Path, the Susquehanna Path, the Tulpehocken Path, the Tuscarora Path, and the Wyoming Path. These trails were level and direct and were situated above flood level or along well-drained ridges."Indian trails and Shamokin," Bucknell University Environmental Center
/ref>


See also

*
Logstown "extensive flats" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = Image:Logstown1.jpg , imagesize = 220px , image_alt = , image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States ...
* Kuskusky * Kittanning (village) * Sassoonan * Saucunk


External links

* Maps of th
western
an
eastern
portions of the Great Shamokin Path, fro
ExplorePAHistory.com


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamokin (Village) Archaeological sites in Pennsylvania Former Native American populated places in the United States Former populated places in Pennsylvania History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Iroquois populated places Lenape Moravian Church missionaries Native American history of Pennsylvania Native American populated places Tutelo 1756 disestablishments