Mount Hope

Mount Hope, originally Montaup in the Pokanoket language and also known by the Native name Potumtuk, is a wooded promontory on the eastern shore of Bristol, Rhode Island, overlooking Mount Hope Bay. Before European settlers arrived in New England, the 7,000 acres that now make up the Town of Bristol were called the Mount Hope Lands and belonged to Massasoit Osamequin, the great sachem of the Pokanoket Nation. What later became Mount Hope Farm was the Pokanoket Tribe’s summer camp; this was the same tribe that greeted the Mayflower in Plymouth in 1620, and at least one of the first Thanksgiving feasts may have been held on this property. After Massasoit’s death, his son Metacomet, or King Philip, made Mount Hope his base of operations, and King Philip’s Chair, a rocky quartz ledge on the mountain, served as a lookout for enemy ships on Mount Hope Bay. In alliance with other tribes, Philip launched a war against the English in June 1675 that lasted 14 months before he was defeated. After the war, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Rhode Island all claimed this prized territory, and surviving tribal members were either enslaved or driven out of the area. Before colonization, the political seat of the many tribes was located in Sowams, or southern area, in the realm of Pokanoket. In March 1621, Massasoit Osamequin and the Pilgrims agreed on a mutual protection treaty that remained in effect for over fifty years. Governor William Bradford had been told that the land of the Pokanoket had the richest soil and much open ground fit for English grain, hinting at the land conflicts that soon developed. The Pokanokets believed then and now that their territory is part of American Aboriginal heritage, their birthright, and land they are bound to steward even when they may not legally own it. Today the tribe consists of over three hundred members, and although not all live in Sowams, they remain closely connected and frequently attend tribal events in the area, including the annual Strawberry Moon Thanksgiving held in June on the grounds of Mount Hope Farm.

Bristol, Rhode Island · United States