Little Compton in Newport County, Rhode Island — The American Northeast (New England)
Summer Weeku Frame
Weekus are traditional Wampanoag homes
| — | Awashonks Garden | — |
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, July 26, 2026
1. Summer Weeku Frame Marker
A weeku (weety8) is a Wampanoag house. The Sakonnets, and other Wampanoag communities in Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, would live in different types of houses depending on what time of year it was. During the spring and summer, the houses were round, cattail-mat covered, and near the coast, so families could tend their fields and fish. In the fall and winter, people removed the cattail mats from their homes and moved inland to large bark-covered houses they shared with community members. The interior house frames were made of cedar, maple, or hickory. The houses would range in size, from about 16 feet around, like this one, to very large bark-covered houses, ranging up to hundreds of feet in length.
Darius Coombs, Mashpee Wampanoag
Erected 2025 by Little Compton Historical Society. (Marker Number 105.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. In addition, it is included in the Rhode Island, Little Compton Historical Society series list.
Location. 41° 29.595′ N, 71° 11.066′ W.
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Regionally, this marker is on Narragansett Bay. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Honoring Awashonks (here, next to this marker); Three Sisters: A Symbiotic Garden (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Sakonnet (here, next to this marker); Sakonnet History Project (a few steps from this marker); Fal Solomon: Indentured Here / Honoring Fal (a few steps from this marker); Native Plants (a few steps from this marker); Distrust for the Newcomers (a few steps from this marker);
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, July 26, 2026
2. Summer Weeku Frame Marker (wide)
Also see . . . Awashonks Garden Exhibit #105. Additional information about the Summer Weeku and the construction process for this exhibit.
This is the cedar frame of a summer weeku. Sakonnet families harvested cedar saplings for their homes from the Cedar Swamp between Sakonnet and Pocasset. Multigenerational families of 6 to 8 people lived together in a house like this near their fields in the summer.(Submitted on July 30, 2026, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, July 26, 2026
3. Summer Weeku Frame
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, July 26, 2026
4. Summer Weeku Frame (wide)
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, July 26, 2026
5. Awashonks Garden Entrance
Awashonks Garden entrance is behind the Wilbor House on the Little Compton Historical Society grounds.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 30, 2026, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 23 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 30, 2026, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
