We-sha-u-gan of Wigwam Hill

Following King Philip’s War in 1675, many Native Americans in the valley relocated west, thereby making the land available for European settlement. A few, however, remained in what is now Wilbraham. One such area, remembered as Indian Rock, stood just west of today’s Hefferon Road. Local history recalls that a Native family lived there and would sometimes cross into the center village to trade at Charles Brewer’s tavern on Main Street during the mid-1700s.

Among those remembered in Wilbraham’s early history is We-sha-u-gan, a Native woman whose wigwam gave its name to Wigwam Hill. Her dwelling stood east of the small stream that still runs through the clearing at the junction of Tinkham and Boles Roads. She was known in the community and occasionally visited Reverend Noah Merrick and his wife, Abigail. On one occasion, Abigail and her child dined with We-sha-u-gan in her wigwam, eating succotash she had prepared.

By the mid-1700s, We-sha-u-gan had become a well-known figure in the area. In 1904, historian Chauncey E. Peck wrote a tale called The Legend of Minneola, describing an encounter between We-sha-u-gan and Nathaniel Hitchcock, the town’s first settler. One autumn afternoon around 1745, Hitchcock returned from hunting on Wigwam Hill and came upon the aging woman. Alone and without her people, she survived by foraging and hunting small animals.

Hitchcock, moved by her situation, offered her partridges from his hunt. Grateful, she told him of her visits with the minister’s family and, with quiet pride, recalled inviting them to taste her cooking, though the minister’s wife politely declined her roasted skunk.

As the evening sun dipped lower, We-sha-u-gan spoke of her people’s past. She knew her time was nearing its end, yet she held onto the traditions of her tribe, who had called the land Minnechoag, or “Berry Land.” From her place on Wigwam Hill, she shared ancient legends passed down through generations, keeping alive the voice of her people in a world that was quickly changing.

Whether every detail of Chauncey Peck's account is rooted in fact or embellished through local tradition, the story of We-sha-u-gan reflects an important truth: Native people did not simply vanish from the Connecticut Valley after King Philip's War. Individuals like her remained, adapting to a changing world while preserving the memories, language, and customs of their ancestors. Though her wigwam has long since disappeared and the forests of Wigwam Hill have changed, her name endures in the landscape. Each time the hill is mentioned, it serves as a quiet reminder of those who first called this place Minnechaug, "Berry Land", and of the Native voices that helped shape the earliest history of what would become Wilbraham.

1917 Historical map of Wilbraham, Henry I. Edson. The arrow indicates where the wigwam stood.

In the aerial photograph, the arrow indicates the area where her wigwam is believed to have stood.