Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Study
by Iron Thunderhorse, March 2004
In October 2001 the U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure by U.S. Representative Nancy Johnson of Connecticut to determine if the Metacomet and Mattabesett Trails could receive federal protection as part of the national trail system. Johnson said that she pledged to “protect these scenic trails from environmental degradation…”
As readers of my Branford Review columns will know, this system was known to the Quinnipiac as Mishimayagat.
Connecticut maintains 700 miles of Blue-Blazed Trails. The very first Blue-Blazed Trail in Connecticut was created in 1928 by the advocacy of Edgar L. Heermance and was none other than the Quinnipiac Trail which runs from Sleeping Giant to West Rock and was part of a network connected to East Rock (trails below East Rock still survive today).
The Mattabesett Trail is part of the ancient Mattabeseck Sachemdom trail system and has three divisions: northern, eastern and central. It runs from Middletown (Mattabeseck) through Middlefield and Durham, into the upper corner of North Branford and into Guilford, connecting Mattabeseck with the Menunkatuck Sachemdom.
Mattabeseck was one of the key Sachemdoms of the Quinnipiac’s aboriginal 750-square mile domain between 1500-1600 AD. It is mentioned in the Second Treaty of the Quinnipiac signed by Mantowese, the son of Sowheag (Mattabeseck) and nephew to Sequin, who was Grand Sachem of the Wangunk. Mantowese was actually a Sachem of what is now North Haven and a councillor in Momauguin’s Grand Council.
The Wangunk’s territory extended from Middletown through what is now Hartford. The Metacomet Trail cuts off of the Mattabesett Trail in Meriden and we know that Meriden was part of the wintering grounds of the Quinnipiac along with Cheshire up to lower Farmington. Metacomet Trail meanders up through Southington, Berlin, Plainville, Farmington, West Hartford, Bloomfield, Simsbury, East Granley and Suffield.
In the “Map of Connecticut, Circa 1625, Indian Trails, Villages, Sachemdoms,” drawn by Hayden L. Griswold, C.E., and compiled by Mathias Speiss (published by the Colonial Dames of America Connecticut Society in 1930, the most widely printed map of Native life in this period) the Metacomet Trail was shown as the Quinnipiac-Suckiauk Path (i.e. Hartford).
It is important to save as many hiking and scenic trails as possible. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association (www.ctwoodlands.org) supports this measure. They have an excellent publication, called The Connecticut Walk Book, which every outdoor person should have.
But there is much more to preserve here. We must remind Congress that our indigenous roots lie here in these trails. These trails were our ancestral highways --- in place a thousand years prior to European arrival. Our landmarks and sacred sites are strung out along these trails like prayer beads.
Everyone can help by simply sending an email, phone call or a short letter to their state representatives. Tell them you favor the study and preservation of the Metacomet-Mattabesett Trails and you want them to also make sure they include our Native American history, especially the Quinnipiac, which is tied to both trails.
Tell them you read about it in my column in the Branford Review [reprinted on ACQTC.org]. You may even want to send a copy of this column with it as an attachment just so they have something to remind them to act. [Outdated contact information for a former Congressional Representative has been removed. - ed.]
Arumshemocke, thank you very kindly one and all. May Numpsoonk (Our Grandfather) and Kici-Mandoo (Great Spirit) guide your steps along the Trails we know as Mishimayagat and keep you safe and content as you enjoy the wonders of nature and all its beauty.
Namitch neetompaog.
published in the Branford Review, March 26, 2004
