Brimfield Timeline - Contact Period (1500

Contact Period (1500 - 1620)

Settlement Patterns

Theoretically,the Contact period is the time during which the native Americans were first introduced to the Europeans arriving on this continent. Since that introduction did not come in western Massachusetts until later than in the eastern part of the state, research by archaeologists is directed towards interpreting artifacts from this period to establish the way in which native americans in this region lived before Europeans appeared and began to make a written record. During the Contact period there were seven major areas in the Connecticut River Valley in which native Americans were concentrated. One of these concentrations, located the furthest east in the valley, included the present day towns of Brimfield and Wales, the Brookfields, Warren and Sturbridge. Archaeologists have located evidence of settlements in the area primarily around water bodies, and in Brimfield they have identified one native American settlement through artifacts found at Sherman Pond as being occupied by a group named the Quabaugs. In addition to artifacts, a path and lookout spot at Steerage Rock in Brimfield are landscape features thought to have been used by native Americans during this period.

The Quabaugs were a branch of a larger group, the Nipmucks, which is thought to have used the area while maintaining villages along the Connecticut River. The Nipmucks were River Indians who were concentrated along the Connecticut River in the Hatfield, Hadley, Northampton area but traveled as far as Brimfield for hunting and cultivation. Artifacts such as arrow heads and pottery from the Quabaug and Nipmuck groups have been unearthed in Brimfield.