Winneccunnett Pond Area
Winneccunnett Pond is the only sizable, natural body of water in Norton, Massachusetts. Winneccunnett is a Native American word meaning "the place of the black geese." A Native American village was established on the north end of the pond long before Plymouth Colony was settled.
Metacomet, chief sachem of the Wampanoags and called "King Philip" by the English, came to these shores to hunt and fish. A cave on Great Rocky Hill, not far from the pond is designated, as "King Philip's cave" it is presumed he used this cave for shelter when he came to hunt and fish in the area.
The house of Norton's first settler, William Witherell, built in 1669, was located on the east side of the pond. A marker commemorates the site. Sergeant William Witherell was seriously wounded in the Great Swamp Fight , an epic battle in King Philip's War. In 1685 he was granted a license to sell hard liquor by the general court in Plymouth . He opened what was possibly the first public house in Norton at this site.
Bay Road, an old Native American trail, is one of the oldest roads in Massachusetts. it linked Taunton , in the Plymouth Colony, To Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Along Bay Road were mile markers posts which told travelers how many miles were left till journey's end. Norton still has two of its original markers. The first burial ground, where Norton's pioneer settlers are buried, is located about 175 yards due east of the site of William Witherwell's house.
Marker is on Bay Road, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
