Webster in Worcester County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
Chaubunagungamaug
1630 - 1930
Photographed By Russell C. Bixby, May 31, 2011
1. Chaubunagungamaug Marker
Site of Praying Indian town established by John Eliot and Daniel Gookin in 1674 and known as Chaubunagungamaug.
Erected 1930 by Massachusetts Bay Colony-Tercentenary Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • War, French and Indian. In addition, it is included in the Massachusetts Bay Colony—Tercentenary Commission Markers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1674.
Location. 42° 2.757′ N, 71° 51.777′ W. Marker is in Webster, Massachusetts, in Worcester County. Marker is at the intersection of Thompson Road and Lake Street, on the right when traveling south on Thompson Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Webster MA 01570, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. East Village Textile Mill (approx. one mile away); Slater Cotton Mill (approx. one mile away); Samuel Slater (approx. one mile away); Old Maanexit Ford (approx. 3.3 miles away); Dudley Soldiers War Memorial (approx. 3½ miles away); The Johnson Massacre (approx. 3.7 miles away); Huguenot Settlement (approx. 4.4 miles away); Thompson KIA Memorial (approx. 4.6 miles away in Connecticut). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Webster.
Also see . . .
this page online
Original 1930 publication by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of Tercentenary Commission Markers, commemorating the three hundredth anniversary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Submitted on June 1, 2011, by Russell Chaffee Bixby of Bernardston, Massachusetts.)
August 28, 2018
2. Chaubunagungamaug Marker
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, August 9, 2015
3. John Eliot
This portrait by of John Eliot an unknown artist hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
“No Puritan leader in seventeenth-century New England was more interested in the welfare of the region's Native American population than John Eliot. A graduate of Cambridge University, Eliot immigrated to Boston in 1631. While serving as the pastor of a church in Roxbury, Eliot began to search for ways to perform missionary work among the region's tribal communities. He studied the local Algonquian language, and by 1646 he was preaching to the native inhabitants in their own language.
In order to protect his potential Christian converts, he established the first of fourteen towns for so called ‘praying Indians’ in 1651. Perhaps his most extraordinary accomplishment, though, was the translation of the Bible into an Algonquian dialect a task that required Eliot to invent new words and new grammatical structures. Its publication in 1661 marked the first printing of a Bible in America.” — National Portrait Gallery
“No Puritan leader in seventeenth-century New England was more interested in the welfare of the region's Native American population than John Eliot. A graduate of Cambridge University, Eliot immigrated to Boston in 1631. While serving as the pastor of a church in Roxbury, Eliot began to search for ways to perform missionary work among the region's tribal communities. He studied the local Algonquian language, and by 1646 he was preaching to the native inhabitants in their own language.
In order to protect his potential Christian converts, he established the first of fourteen towns for so called ‘praying Indians’ in 1651. Perhaps his most extraordinary accomplishment, though, was the translation of the Bible into an Algonquian dialect a task that required Eliot to invent new words and new grammatical structures. Its publication in 1661 marked the first printing of a Bible in America.” — National Portrait Gallery
Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2011, by Russell Chaffee Bixby of Bernardston, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 1,143 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on October 26, 2011, by Russell Chaffee Bixby of Bernardston, Massachusetts. Photos: 1. submitted on May 31, 2011, by Russell Chaffee Bixby of Bernardston, Massachusetts. 2. submitted on August 28, 2018. 3. submitted on October 24, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
