Page 14 - North Haven Magazine Issue 22 Winter 2022

by Susan A. Iverson
North Haven's First

INHABITANTS

Before the Europeans visited and settled in the North Haven area, the Quinnipiac people lived in this
region. North Haven did not have boundaries as we know them today. Rather, it was part of a much
larger area dominated by the Quinnipiac River and so became inhabited by a people who depended
on the river for many of its resources. We need to think of our town in a much different context – an
exceedingly small part of the continent of North America with a specific climate, growing conditions,
and supplies of plants and animals that a group of humans came to be dependent on for survival.
The Quinnipiac People acclimated to this part of our continent – they were North Haven’s first in-
habitants.
ccording to Lucy Brusic’s book Among tein they needed in their diets. They also used
ACultivated and Pleasant Fields the first the waste shells from oysters, clams, and scal-
visitors to North Haven arrived about 14,000 lops as tools for fishing, scooping, and digging
years ago and used this area for hunting and soil while gardening. The winter months pro-
fishing. Evidence of more permanent settle- vided much better hunting a bit upland, mak-
ments in North Haven can be traced back ing North Haven an ideal location for them.
about 2,500 years – and were likely ancestors The animals they hunted in North Haven
of the Quinnipiac People. When Dutch ex- provided them with heavier fur and thicker
plorers arrived in New Haven Harbor in 1625, layers of fat in the winter months, making it a
they were met by a people the Dutch came to superior winter home. Because the Quinnip-
call the “Quirepays”, or Quinnipiacs, after the iacs were constantly moving about gathering
name of the river next to which they lived. food and relocating their villages, they wore Native American knives found in
“Quinnipiac” was the Quiripi – Algonquian away permanent paths that remained clear for North Haven
word that meant “long crooked river.” The many years. These paths became even wider house Point in New Haven. The Quinnipiacs
Quinnipiacs did not name themselves – the as European settlers used them, until they be- gladly accepted this arrangement. Because
Dutch created the name of these indigenous came more like dirt roads than pathways. One their traditions of land use were so different
people. Benjamin Trumbull, pastor of the of the most used “Indian Trails” was the area from the English, they did not understand
church in North Haven from 1760 to 1820, now occupied by Route One along the CT what they were giving up. They did not un-
described the Quinnipiac people as always shoreline! derstand, for example, that they could no
wearing animal skins, simply pulled more longer hunt or move about on land that had
closely around their bodies in cold tempera- been given to the English, and this resulted
tures. They also wore shoes without sepa- in some clashes between the Quinnipiacs and
rate heels, much like moccasins. The women the settlers. They also did not understand En-
wore more clothing than the men, as well as glish laws and found themselves arrested and
caps decorated with wampum. The Quinnip- punished for “crimes” like hunting or fishing
iac People have been described as tall, light on the Sabbath. The English settlers did not
skinned and mild mannered. Surprisingly, no understand the Quinnipiac traditions, either
one ever thought to sketch a member of the - this basic difference in cultures led to mis-
Quinnipiacs, so we only have the occasional Grindstone artifact believed to be characterization of the Quinnipiacs. Eventu-
written description to help us visualize them. Native American ally the Quinnipiacs were relocated further
Inside a Quinnipiac village there would be and further away – at one time it was believed
that no more Quinnipiacs remained here.
clusters of shelters made from saplings that However, it is now thought that small groups
would be bent into arches to form a rounded stayed behind in southern Connecticut and
top shelter. The saplings would be bound to- simply incorporated themselves into the rest
gether for stability and strength, then covered of the population.
with mats made of bark, woven grasses, and
tree branches. Inside the shelters would be Although not legally recognized as a tribe by
sleeping platforms made of more tree branch- our state government, North Haven certainly
es and animal hides. A fire would burn inside, acknowledges the Quinnipiac People’s pres-
Wigwam model built by the Iannone family and and its smoke would vent out of an opening in ence here with our street and school names,
located at the North Haven Historical Society the roof. Europeans who visited these homes like Quinnipiac, Sachem, Algonquin, and
found them to be surprisingly warm and dry. Montowese. Right now, research is ongoing at
The Quinnipiac People did not live within These shelters could be dismantled and car- the North Haven Historical Society on a large
arbitrary boundaries; it was not unusual for ried to other locations if needed. quantity of artifacts believed to be Quinnipi-
them to travel across Long Island Sound or ac – watch for an exhibit displaying this work
up the entire length of the Quinnipiac River Before European settlers came to our area, The soon!
or its tributaries in search of suitable hunting Quinnipiacs were often attacked by aggressive
or fishing grounds. However, they did have tribes to the east and west. As more English Many thanks to all those who have contributed
preferred areas to live in during the different arrived to stay, they needed more land. They to a better understanding of North Haven’s
seasons. In summer, the Quinnipiacs could be negotiated with the Quinnipiacs through a first inhabitants – please consider reaching
found living near the shores of Long Island series of treaties to protect them from invad- out to the North Haven Historical Society
Sound, fishing and gardening at several sites. ing tribes, thus providing them safe places to for the resources used to write this article:
The fish and seafood they were able to obtain live (reservations) in exchange for expansive [email protected] or 203-239-7722.
from the sound provided them with the pro- lands. One reservation was around Light-

North Haven Magazine - Winter Issue 2022
14