Burials and Seasonal Occupancy
Although it is believed the Native population spent little time here there are a few comments passed down by early inhabitants of Fitzwilliam to make us believe their presence was very real.
Mr. Wait found skeletal remains down by the State Line when digging his cellar hole. He was here in Fitzwilliam during its earliest days of the 18th century. Wigwams were found by both John Camp (Camp Brook) and Joshua Twitchell at “Lot 1 of the tenth range…” near the same vicinity. To give you a further idea of where their tenancy was located the following early ownership names are offered; D. Francis White, Benjamin Haywood and Benjamin Fisk. All were situated near the brook. Even arrowheads have been found in Fitzwilliam. Plowing of the fields brought small artifacts to the surface, further signifying the presence of earlier inhabitants.
In the area of Sip Pond Indian mortars have been located. These are said to have been scooped out in a time consuming bowl shape by traveling Indians from Canada on their way to the seacoast during the warm summer months of the year, before English settlement. Their primitive tools would have been extremely valuable for this chore. They would have located these significant rocks from year to year and used them for grinding meal and perhaps other things.
Scipio Jawhaw, a black blacksmith living near Sip Pond (named for him), was married to a Native American woman. This same pond was also called Squaw Pond because of her. It may be presumed that she had a connection to this area. Their union took place before the Revolutionary War. She pretended to be a witch!
Since there was a bounty of forty pounds per Indian scalp in NH and MA during the early 1700s it should come as no surprise that they chose to leave the area.