Fort Shantok, in

Montville, Connecticut Montville is a town in New London County, Connecticut in the United States. The population was 18,387 at the 2020 census. The villages of Chesterfield, Mohegan, Oakdale, and Uncasville are located within the town; the latter two have their own ...

, was the site of the principal

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the east ...

settlement between 1636 and 1682 and the sacred ground of

Uncas Uncas () was a ''sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes. Early life and family Uncas was born n ...

, one of the most prominent and influential Mohegan leaders and statesmen of his era. Originally part of Mohegan reservation lands, the property was taken by the state of

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 ...

in the 20th century and Fort Shantok State Park was established. In 1995, following legal action by the tribe to recover its lands, the state returned the park to Mohegan control.Fort Shantok State Park at Mohegan
/ref> The tribe now operates the area, part of its reservation, as a local park. The grounds were declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

(as the Fort Shantok Archaeological District) in 1993.

Description

The fort was purchased by the State Park and Forest commission in 1930 and added to the Fort Shantok State Park, increasing the park to 160 acres. The area was declared a

in 1993. In 1994, through a land claims settlement act, the Mohegans paid $3 million for return of the land. The district is located within the Mohegan Indian Reservation just west of the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and south of the Mohegan Sun casino off Route 2A. The fort was used as a burial ground. It contains over one hundred identified graves. The Mohegans decided not to build on the land or further develop it in order to preserve the land's history. The Archaeological Consulting Services offered to preserve eight acres of the two tribal sites, but the tribe decided to preserve all the property instead. Fort Shantok represents a location of distinction to the Mohegan people, because it is the first site where they settled with Sachem Uncas in the 17th century. In addition, Fort Shantok was used as a stronghold by the Mohegan leader Uncas when fending off an attack from the Narragansetts during 1645. Although the fort was sturdy and well-defended, the attack continued until an English force led by Lt. Thomas LeffingwellMahan, Russell, Thomas Leffingwell: The Connecticut Pioneer Who Rescued Chief Uncas and the Mohegans; Historical Enterprises, Santa Clara, Utah, 2018. provided reprovisions."NATIVE AMERICAN MOHEGANS." Native American Mohegan. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . At this point, the Narragansetts abandoned the siege and returned home. There is a memorial in the shape of a wigwam known as the Leffingwell Memorial in the fort, the inscription stating, "Here stood the fort of Uncas Sachem of the Mohegans and friend of the English; here in 1645 when by the Narragansetts he was relieved by the bravery of Lt. T. I. Leffingwell." It is one of the few places where Native American

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

have been preserved in southern New England in any state, due to the area's highly acidic soil, climate, and colonial construction. These ceramics have been used in an attempt by archeologists to determine migration patterns in local New England tribes, such as the Pequots.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut Archaeological sites in New London County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Montville, Connecticut Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Parks in New London County, Connecticut

Description

See also

References