Kiskiack
Encyclopedia
Kiskiack was a Native American tribal group of the Powhatan Confederacy. The name means "Wide Land" or "Bread Place" in the native language, one of the Virginia Algonquian
languages. It was also the name of their village on the Virginia Peninsula
. Later English colonists adopted the name for their own village in that area. The site is now occupied by the US Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
in York County, Virginia
. The settlement was 11 miles (17.7 km) from Werowocomoco
, capital of the Powhatan Confederacy.
-speaking Kiskiack tribe, of the large Powhatan Confederacy, was located near the south bank of the York River
on the Virginia Peninsula
. The village was a few miles west of what became present-day Yorktown
. The Kiskiack had built permanent villages, made up of numerous long-houses or yihakans, in which related families would live, with both private and communal space.
The Kiskiack were one of the original six tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy. Beginning with the arrival of the English
colonists at Jamestown
in 1607, they were generally one of the most hostile toward the English encroachments. They were reluctant to give away their goods simply at the request of parties sent from Jamestown to collect corn and other foodstuffs during the first few years after English settlement. But, they were one of the few tribes to be relatively friendly to the English in the First Anglo-Powhatan War.
Kiskiack was only about 15 miles (24.1 km) from Jamestown, but it was across the Peninsula and along the York River. This area did not receive as many English colonists as did the waterfront along the James River
. There settlements kept advancing to the west. In 1612, John Smith estimated the Kiskiack population included about 40-50 warriors. William Strachey
recorded the name of their weroance
as Ottahotin.
The Kiskiack took part in the Indian Massacre of 1622
, when they helped kill colonists. The next year the colonists retaliated against them and other nearby tribes, killing about 200 men by giving them poison at a supposed friendly meeting. Some time before 1627, the Kiskiack left their village to migrate west; the English colonists occupied the site in 1629 and retained the name for some time.
By 1649 the Kiskiack had settled along the Piankatank River
, when the English "granted" their weroance Ossakican (or Wassatickon) a reservation of 5000 acres (20.2 km²). In 1651, the Kiskiack exchanged this land for another 5000 acres (20.2 km²) tract farther upriver. Soon the English began to encroach on the reservation in Gloucester County
as well. In 1669 the Kiskiack had only 15 bowmen. They last appeared in historical records during Bacon's Rebellion
. They seem then to have merged with other groups, probably the Pamunkey
, Chickahominy, or Rappahannock
.
, the Governor, and his Council,
Under this order, colonists built houses on both sides of King's Creek. New ones were added along the south side of York River. The colony decided to fortify the area. In 1634, they erected a palisade
across the Peninsula from Martin's Hundred
to Kiskiack to protect the lower (eastern) area from Indian attacks. Middle Plantation
, near the center of the palisade, was the first inland settlement, established by an Act of Assembly of the House of Burgesses
in 1632. In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg
after being designated the capital of the Colony.
The former site of Kiskiack is now occupied by the U.S. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
. The original Algonquian name, often mispronounced by the Anglos-Americans, was the origin of "Cheesecake Road" and "Cheesecake Cemetery", also located on Navy lands in the same area.
The southern end of Cheesecake Road left the federal property and crossed State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail), and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
, and connected with U.S. Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail) near the western edge of Grove
and the James City County-York County border. It was split by the construction of Interstate 64 in the late 1960s.
. This brick structure, the oldest building owned by the U.S. Navy, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The home was built by Dr. Henry Lee, who married Marah Buck. (Lee's descendants called the property Kiskiak.) Marah's father was the minister who officiated at the 17th-century marriage of Pocahontas
and John Rolfe
. Years later, Barbara Blunt Brooks of Richmond, Virginia donated one of Dr. Lee's hand-crafted tables to the Naval Weapons Museum. This table is one of two identical tables known to have been made by Lee; the location of the other is unknown.
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
languages. It was also the name of their village on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
. Later English colonists adopted the name for their own village in that area. The site is now occupied by the US Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia...
in York County, Virginia
York County, Virginia
York County is a county located on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Situated on the York River and many tributaries, the county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown...
. The settlement was 11 miles (17.7 km) from Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco was a village that served as the political center of the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, a grouping of about 30 Virginia Indian tribes speaking an Algonquian language...
, capital of the Powhatan Confederacy.
History
In the mid-6th and early 17th century, the AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking Kiskiack tribe, of the large Powhatan Confederacy, was located near the south bank of the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
. The village was a few miles west of what became present-day Yorktown
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
. The Kiskiack had built permanent villages, made up of numerous long-houses or yihakans, in which related families would live, with both private and communal space.
The Kiskiack were one of the original six tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy. Beginning with the arrival of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
colonists at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
in 1607, they were generally one of the most hostile toward the English encroachments. They were reluctant to give away their goods simply at the request of parties sent from Jamestown to collect corn and other foodstuffs during the first few years after English settlement. But, they were one of the few tribes to be relatively friendly to the English in the First Anglo-Powhatan War.
Kiskiack was only about 15 miles (24.1 km) from Jamestown, but it was across the Peninsula and along the York River. This area did not receive as many English colonists as did the waterfront along the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
. There settlements kept advancing to the west. In 1612, John Smith estimated the Kiskiack population included about 40-50 warriors. William Strachey
William Strachey
William Strachey was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America...
recorded the name of their weroance
Weroance
Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning tribal chief, leader, commander, or king, notably among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the colonists of Jamestown and adjacent area of the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607,...
as Ottahotin.
The Kiskiack took part in the Indian Massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
The Indian Massacre of 1622 occurred in the Colony of Virginia, in what now belongs to the United States of America, on Friday, March 22, 1622...
, when they helped kill colonists. The next year the colonists retaliated against them and other nearby tribes, killing about 200 men by giving them poison at a supposed friendly meeting. Some time before 1627, the Kiskiack left their village to migrate west; the English colonists occupied the site in 1629 and retained the name for some time.
By 1649 the Kiskiack had settled along the Piankatank River
Piankatank River
The Piankatank River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the Middle Peninsula, between the Rappahannock and York rivers, it was the site of numerous actions during the American Civil War....
, when the English "granted" their weroance Ossakican (or Wassatickon) a reservation of 5000 acres (20.2 km²). In 1651, the Kiskiack exchanged this land for another 5000 acres (20.2 km²) tract farther upriver. Soon the English began to encroach on the reservation in Gloucester County
Gloucester County, Virginia
Gloucester County is within the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area in the USA. Formed in 1651 in the Virginia Colony, the county was named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I of Great Britain. Located in the Middle Peninsula region, it...
as well. In 1669 the Kiskiack had only 15 bowmen. They last appeared in historical records during Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony in North America, led by a 29-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon.About a thousand Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans...
. They seem then to have merged with other groups, probably the Pamunkey
Pamunkey
The Pamunkey nation are one of eleven Virginia Indian tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical tribe was part of the Powhatan paramountcy, made up of Algonquian-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about...
, Chickahominy, or Rappahannock
Rappahannock
-Military:*Battle of Rappahannock Station I, a battle in the American Civil War*Battle of Rappahannock Station II, a battle in the American Civil War-Places:*Rappahannock River, a river in eastern Virginia...
.
English settlement and the palisade
At a meeting held at Jamestown on October 8, 1630, Sir John HarveyJohn Harvey (Virginia)
Sir John Harvey was a Crown Governor of Virginia. He was elected to the position on 26 March 1628. In 1635 he was suspended and impeached by the House of Burgesses , and he returned to England. He was restored to his post by the King in 1636 and returned to Virginia the following year...
, the Governor, and his Council,
"for the securing and taking in a tract of land called the forest, bordering upon the cheife residence of ye PamunkeyPamunkeyThe Pamunkey nation are one of eleven Virginia Indian tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical tribe was part of the Powhatan paramountcy, made up of Algonquian-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about...
King, the most dangerous head of ye Indyan enemy," did "after much consultation thereof had, decree and sett down several proportions of land for such commanders, and 50 acres (202,343 m²) per poll for all other persons who ye first yeare and five and 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) who the second yeare, should adventure or be adventured to seate and inhabit on the southern side of Pamunkey River, now called York, and formerly known by the Indyan name of Chiskiack, as a reward and encouragement for their undertaking."
Under this order, colonists built houses on both sides of King's Creek. New ones were added along the south side of York River. The colony decided to fortify the area. In 1634, they erected a palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
across the Peninsula from Martin's Hundred
Martin's Hundred
Martin's Hundred was an early 17th century plantation located along about ten miles of the north shore of the James River in the Virginia Colony east of Jamestown in the southeastern portion of present-day James City County, Virginia...
to Kiskiack to protect the lower (eastern) area from Indian attacks. Middle Plantation
Middle Plantation
Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony, was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about half-way across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland...
, near the center of the palisade, was the first inland settlement, established by an Act of Assembly of the House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
in 1632. In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
after being designated the capital of the Colony.
The former site of Kiskiack is now occupied by the U.S. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia...
. The original Algonquian name, often mispronounced by the Anglos-Americans, was the origin of "Cheesecake Road" and "Cheesecake Cemetery", also located on Navy lands in the same area.
The southern end of Cheesecake Road left the federal property and crossed State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail), and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
, and connected with U.S. Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail) near the western edge of Grove
Grove, Virginia
Grove is an unincorporated community in the southeastern portion of James City County in the Peninsula subregion of Virginia in the United States. It is located in the center of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, communities linked by the Colonial Parkway; the area is one of the busiest...
and the James City County-York County border. It was split by the construction of Interstate 64 in the late 1960s.
Kiskiack House
"Kiskiack" is the name of an early 17th-century brick building, originally a private residence, which still stands at the Naval Weapons Station YorktownNaval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia...
. This brick structure, the oldest building owned by the U.S. Navy, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The home was built by Dr. Henry Lee, who married Marah Buck. (Lee's descendants called the property Kiskiak.) Marah's father was the minister who officiated at the 17th-century marriage of Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
and John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
. Years later, Barbara Blunt Brooks of Richmond, Virginia donated one of Dr. Lee's hand-crafted tables to the Naval Weapons Museum. This table is one of two identical tables known to have been made by Lee; the location of the other is unknown.