Native American Burial Ground & Pilgrim Encounters 🌿

What Native American tribe did the Pilgrims meet? The Nobscussett were the first tribe to meet the Mayflower Pilgrims. The number of burials here is unknown. Even the exact dates of usage are lost from historical record. The chief Mashantampaine who is believed buried here was born in the early 17th century.

Did the Pilgrims get along with the natives? The Indigenous people of the area which we now call Cape Cod, were engaged in beaver skin trade with both England and France. In the year 1614, English Captain Thomas Hunt captured more than 20 Nobscussett people and brought them to Spain, to sell as slaves. The captures outraged the Nobscussett and they stopped the trading. In the years 1618 through 1619, a plague killed most of the Nobscussett. It is believed the burning of the dead from this plague marks the origin of this Burial Ground.