Patuxet

Patuxet was a Wampanoag village located in the region of present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. It stood along the shore of what would become Plymouth Harbor and served as an important center of Wampanoag social, political, and economic life in the pre-contact era.

In the early 17th century, contact with European explorers and traders brought devastating disease to Patuxet. Epidemics, including smallpox and other illnesses, rapidly reduced the population. By around 1619 the village had been largely depopulated, with most inhabitants dead or having joined other Wampanoag communities; the site would later be abandoned and absorbed into English settlement. The exact meaning of the name Patuxet is uncertain, but it is of Wampanoag origin and tied to the place’s history.

When English settlers arrived in 1620 to establish Plymouth Colony, they found the area largely uninhabited except for a few Patuxet survivors. One of the most notable figures from Patuxet was Squanto (Tisquantum), who had been captured and taken to Europe, learned English, and returned to assist the Pilgrims as an interpreter and intermediary with the Wampanoag leader Massasoit. His involvement helped forge alliances that aided the fledgling colony's survival in its early years.

Today, the site of Patuxet is within modern Plymouth, and its history is linked to the founding of Plymouth and the broader narrative of early encounters between the English and the Wampanoag. Archaeological investigations at Patuxet have revealed remains from both pre-contact and post-contact periods, including dwellings, tools, and trade goods.