The Native American Burial Site Found In Massachusetts Is A Historical Wonder

Everyone knows that Massachusetts is full of colonial history, but this state was actually inhabited for thousands of years before Europeans ever stepped foot here. This moving Native American cemetery in Lakeville is a testament to the enduring legacy of the first people of this land.

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Wampanoag Royal Cemetery is a historic Native peoples cemetery in Lakeville. It contains about 20 graves. Some of the people buried here are actually direct descendants of the famed Wampanoag sachem Massasoit, also known as Ousamequin.

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The Wampanoag or Wôpanâak people lived in what is now considered Cape Cod, Bristol County, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. Massasoit was known for forging alliances between the colonies of New England and the Wampanoag people, as well as saving the people of the Plymouth Colony from certain starvation during their earliest years in Massachusetts.

The last burial in the cemetery was that of Lydia Tuspaquin, who was interred in 1812 after drowning nearby. The cemetery was officially recognized by the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

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Today, the cemetery is open to the public. It’s a peaceful place that features simple stone markers and lots of open ground. People often leave small trinkets as a way of honoring the dead there. The cemetery is located on the west side of Route 105 (Bedford Street), a little less than a mile south of Long Point Road between Little Quittacus Pond and Great Quittacus Pond.

Click here to check out the cemetery on a map and access driving directions. For another ancient treasure in Massachusetts, click here.