Wetauwanchu Hill

(Salisbury, Connecticut)

Main attributes of this Native American place: Native name; Landmark; In historic documents; Folklore.

Wetauwanchu Hill is a steep-sided, wooded ridge located on the east side of Route 44, north of Salisbury’s central village. The Appalachian Trail ascends the spine of the ridge. The name “Wetauwanchu” is related to the Mohican community of Weataug (Weatogue), whose main settlement was in the northeastern part of the town during the early to mid-eighteenth century. Colonial officials often used Native place names when drafting deeds to purchase land from Tribal members. Wetauwanchuwas apparently an important landmark for the Native people of the Weatogue community, and it is mentioned in a Salisbury-area deed from 1719. The hill’s name became part of local folklore. The name is a homonym for the English phrase “We don’t want you” – which, as one town historian wryly observed, may have been the very sentiment felt by the Weatogue Indians as the first Connecticut colonists arrived in the area.

Thoughts to consider as you stand upon this place: This ridge was an important place for the Mohican people of Weataug during the Colonial period, a semi-eponymous landmark that provided a focal point of orientation.

Contributor: Timothy Binzen

SOURCES

• Binzen, Timothy L. 1997. Mohican Lands and Colonial Corners: Weataug, Wechquadnach and the Connecticut Colony 1675-1750. M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs. Pp. 107-108.
• Salisbury, Connecticut Deeds 3:504.