Mendon, Massachusetts

Also referred to as Squinshepauke

The Nipmuc people once inhabited Mendon. The Nipmuc name does not refer to a specific village or tribe, but to natives that inhabited almost all of central Massachusetts.

Originally part of the Dedham Land Grant. Pioneers from Braintree petitioned to receive a land grant for 8 miles (13 km) square of land, 15 miles (24 km) west of Medfield.² The land was purchased from the Nipmuc Indians, “for divers good and vallewable considerations them there unto Moovinge and especiall for an in consideration of the summe of twenty fower pound Ster.”³ In September 1662, after the deed was signed with a Native American chief, "Great John", the pioneers entered this part of what is now southern Worcester County. "Squinshepauke Plantation was started at the Netmocke settlement and plantation." Earlier, unofficial, settlement had occurred here in the 1640s, by pioneers from Roxbury. The Plantation was incorporated as the town of Mendon in 1667. The settlers were ambitious and set about clearing the roads that would mark settlement patterns throughout the town’s history.

The town was originally 64 square miles (170 km²), including the modern-day towns of Milford, Bellingham, Hopedale, Uxbridge, Upton, Blackstone, Northbridge and Millville. For this reason, the town of Mendon is sometimes referred to as "Mother Mendon". Benjamin Albee (1614–1695) erected a water-powered mill on Mill River in 1664 where it crosses modern-day Hartford Avenue.⁴ ⁵ and was one of the town's important early residents. The mill was the first water-powered grist mill in the region. ⁵

On July 14, 1675, early violence in King Philip's War took place in Mendon, with the deaths of multiple residents and the destruction of Albee's mill. These were the first settlers killed in this war in the Colony of Massachusetts. The town was largely burnt to the ground later that winter in early 1676.⁶ During King Philip's War, many Nipmuc from around Marlboro and Natick were re- located to Deer Island, and many died from the harsh winter in 1675. The town of Mendon was resettled and rebuilt in 1680.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendon,_Massachusetts

Johnson Direct Line Ancestors who lived in Mendon

Places to visit in Mendon

The Founders Marker at the center of Founders Park at 1 Main St, Mendon, shows the name of Ferdinando Thayer as the first settler. Also listed is Johnson ancestor Joseph White. Samuel Hayward was the brother of Ferdinando Thayer’s wife, Huldah Hayward.
Ferdinando Thayer’s property “on Providence St, a little south of the town center.”
The Old Cemetery at the intersection of George St. and Main St. Possible burial place of Ferdinando Thayer and his family.
Southwick Zoo. 2 Southwick St, Mendon, MA 01756-1234
Blackstone Gorge - County St. Blackstone, MA 01504