Profile Rock
Encyclopedia
Profile Rock, also known as the Old Man of Joshua's Mountain, is a 50-foot high granite
rock formation
located in Freetown, Massachusetts
just outside Assonet
village and near the Freetown State Forest.
Native Americans
believe it to be the image of the Wampanoag Chief, Massasoit
. The Wampanoags occupied the region of present-day Rhode Island
and Massachusetts bounded by Narragansett Bay
to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Chief Massasoit was friendly to the early Pilgrim settlers, but his son, Philip, is the namesake of King Philip’s War (1675) between the Wampanoags (sometimes referred to as the Pokanoket) and the English, which resulted in the tribe’s ruin.
Joshua’s Mountain was named after Joshua Tisdale who was the first to settle near the site. The mountain was privately owned for several years by former Freetown Selectman, Ben Evans, who sold the mountain to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be used as a state park tourist attraction. Massachusetts has done little to promote the attraction, however, and the site has been vandalized with graffiti
.
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rock formation
Rock formations in the United States
The following is a partial list of rock formations in the United States, by state:-Arizona:*Canyon de Chelly National Monument**Spider Rock*Chiricahua National Monument**Duck on a Rock**Organ Pipe**Mushroom Rock**Sea Captain*Monument Valley...
located in Freetown, Massachusetts
Freetown, Massachusetts
Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...
just outside Assonet
Assonet, Massachusetts
Assonet is one of two villages in the town of Freetown, Massachusetts in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. An original part of the town, Assonet was settled in 1659 along with the city of Fall River, then a part of Freetown. It rests on the banks of the Assonet River...
village and near the Freetown State Forest.
Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
believe it to be the image of the Wampanoag Chief, Massasoit
Massasoit
Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin ,was the sachem, or leader, of the Pokanoket, and "Massasoit" of the Wampanoag Confederacy. The term Massasoit means Great Sachem.-Early years:...
. The Wampanoags occupied the region of present-day Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Massachusetts bounded by Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Chief Massasoit was friendly to the early Pilgrim settlers, but his son, Philip, is the namesake of King Philip’s War (1675) between the Wampanoags (sometimes referred to as the Pokanoket) and the English, which resulted in the tribe’s ruin.
Joshua’s Mountain was named after Joshua Tisdale who was the first to settle near the site. The mountain was privately owned for several years by former Freetown Selectman, Ben Evans, who sold the mountain to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be used as a state park tourist attraction. Massachusetts has done little to promote the attraction, however, and the site has been vandalized with graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
.