In Search of the Mohicans Quest

In Search of the
Mohicans Quest
At the Mission House go down Sergeant Street.
Turn on a flagstone path to the red barn it meets.
8. Quest Box
MISSION HOUSE, STOCKBRIDGE
On the barn porch a box hides under the roof.
Open up, sign the book, collect the stamp for proof.
If you want to Quest further, take a stroll into town.
There, more of the Mohican story will be found.
INTRODUCTION
PLACE QUEST STAMP HERE
9. Stockbridge Library
Downstairs in the library (open Tues-Sat),
There’s a wigwam, war club, wampum, and a map;
Mohican signatures on an ancient plan—
Reserving 50 acres for every Mohican man.
10. Konkapot Statue
At the old Stockbridge school in a prominent spot,
Above the door, find the face of John Konkapot.
Konkapot was a former sachem and chief,
A Mohican who invited the white man’s belief.
Shown on this sculpture and on the town seal,
Konkapot’s service to Stockbridge is real.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The Quest was created by The Trustees of Reservations
in partnership with Valley Quest of Vermont, and community volunteers from Stockbridge Historical Collections and The Laurel Hill Association. A project funded
by The Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation.
Welcome to the Trustees’ Mission House. Nearly
300 years ago, two cultures came together to live
near the Housatonic River. Mohicans moved from
the Hudson River to the eastern edge of their
homeland. Here, English setters and Mohicans
agreed to work together to create a new town.
Until the early 1750s, they collaborated to form a
government, church, and school.
Following the death of the Rev. John Sergeant in
1749, the experiment faltered. Many Mohicans died
serving with General Washington in the Revolution,
and the loss of family members and resources
forced many Mohicans to give up their lands. By
1785 most of the Mohicans left their homelands to
join the Oneidas in upstate New York. After many
more trails, the Mohicans now live in Wisconsin.
Learn more about them at www.mohican.com.
THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS
The Mission House and Indian Museum is owned and
cared for by The Trustees of Reservations. We are
over 100,000 people like you from every corner of
Massachusetts. We love the distinctive charms of
New England. And we believe in celebrating and protecting them, for ourselves, for our children, and for
generations to come. With more than 100 special
places across the state, we invite you to find your
place.
www.thetrustees.org
HOW TO QUEST
Use the clues and map that follow to find a hidden
story along Main Street in Stockbridge. Along the
way you’ll get some fresh air and learn about local
history. The best way to do this is to take turns
reading the clues aloud. At the end of this Quest
you’ll find a hidden box, where you can sign in, and
collect a copy of the Quest stamp. Then you will
replace the box for the next visitor. This one mile
walk will take about one hour to complete.
1. Mission House & Museum
At the corner of Sergeant and Main, come explore
The Mission House with the fancy front door.
Missionary John Sergeant built this home for his bride.
Upon Prospect Hill he and Abigail did reside.
Mabel Choate moved this house down in the 1920s;
It is now protected forever by the Trustees.
Tour the house and museum behind.
Within both, historical treasures you will find.
Go west past 6 houses on Main Street, then wait
Enter through the cemetery third gate.
Follow hedge and fence on careful feet,
To the corner where a natives’ marker you’ll meet.
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5
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2-3 1
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2. Native Marker
The stone a reminder of lost graves somewhere near
Including Pauquanaunaupeat, christened Peter.
A veterans flag is a lingering clue
Mohicans served in the American Revolution too.
Not too far away and almost in sight,
Find two flat markers, one dark, the other light.
3. Sergeant’s Grave
John Sergeant the first missionary is buried here,
having lost his life in his fortieth year.
Sergeant’s dream was to educate and to befriend.
A premature death brought this work to an end.
By the time second missionary Jon Edwards came,
Much had changed; the spirit was not the same.
For a moment picture Sergeant’s dream town:
Wigwams and frame houses side by side to be found.
Across Main Street, find a four-story tower with bells.
Go closer to read the story that it tells.
4. Meeting House Place
When church and government were one & the same,
A structure stood here, a Meeting House by name.
Above the tower door a stone marker now rests.
“Here stood the little church in the wilderness.”
John Sergeant was invited to form a mission here.
He preached in Mohican to receptive ears.
The sidewalk ends, follow Main Street west out of town.
Past the last house, there’s a stone cairn on a mound.
5. Indian Monument
When this was not Stockbridge, but Indian Town,
This location was the Mohican burial ground.
Please be respectful; Don’t climb or take things.
This jewelry is an offering Mohican descendents bring.
Mary Hopkins Goodrich* had the obelisk brought from
Ice Glen - In memory of her forefather’s friends.
[*Sergeant’s granddaughter Mary Hopkins Goodrich
was the founder of the Laurel Hill Association]
Walking back towards the town:
At the Route 102 corner where fast cars turn,
Notice the pink monument crowned with an urn.
6. Edwards Monument
Don’t cross the street, just take in the view—
Of this memorial to missionary number two.
Edwards ministered to the Mohicans until 1757.
Sermons spoke of brimstone, free will and heaven.
He did not learn to preach in the native tongue,
But worked hard for Mohicans to belong.
Back on Main, pass 4 white pillars on the right,
Slow down by a bench under pines for a sight.
7. Housatonic River
Gaze south to the river floodplain below,
Where beans and maize and pumpkins did grow.
Housatonic is the river’s Indian name.
Along its banks Mohicans fished and hunted game.
As the mission failed, this tribe was pushed west—
New York, Indiana, Wisconsin—after many a test.