“River History” by Dr. Eileen Fielding. Simsbury, CT: The Farmington Watershed Association, 2014.
Dr. Fielding, Director of the Farmington Watershed Association, gave a presentation on the history of the Farmington River in 2014. She was kind enough to export that presentation on a disc for future use. Dr. Fielding provides facts on what types of fish live in the Farmington, and also the relationship the natives had with the Farmington River who lived alongside or near it.
Rudd, Malcolm Day. A Historical Sketch of Salisbury, Connecticut. New York, 1899.
Rudd writes a short history of Salisbury, CT. This town is potentially related to the Massacoes and Simsbury, because Rudd makes the interesting conclusion that the Massacoe moved to this area after King Philip’s War. The evidence behind this is that the natives that lived in Salisbury were called the “Weatogue Indians”, and that there is evidence these people arrived in Salisbury around this time period.
Young, William R. Connecticut Valley Indian. Springfield, MA: Museum of Science, 1969.
Young presents important connections between individual tribes/bands and larger native “nations” or loose groups. The Massacoes, and Tunxis, are placed within the Mattabesec-Wappinger group, one of the nine main Algonquian sub-tribes. Young’s conclusions help to imagine the socio-economic relationship these loosely related bands around Simsbury must have had with one another.
Spiess, Mathias. The Indians of Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1933.
Mathias writes about Connecticut natives in pre-contact times in relation to dominating outside tribes, and then describes the history behind the different English settlements in the Connecticut and Farmington River Valleys. The author tries to connect each tribe, and is one of the only authors so far who have claimed the Massacoe had absolutely nothing to do with the Tunxis natives.
DeForest, John W. History of the Indians of Connecticut. Hartford, CT: WM. Jas. Hamersley, 1852.
DeForest tells the history of the natives in Connecticut. Along with giving a greater historical context to the surrounding Farmington Valley region, DeForest includes important facts and speculations about the Tunxis and Massacoe tribes. This includes population and relationship between the two.
Barber, Lucius. The Burning of Simsbury. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1876
Barber shares the details of the time Simsbury was burnt to the ground in 1676. His speech includes events leading up the event, the event itself and its aftermath. This includes information about where the Massacoes might have gone to after the burning.
Simsbury, 1670-1970. Simsbury, CT: Chamber of Commerce, 1970.
This small booklet was produced to commemorate Simsbury history over three hundred years. Although short, it does provide a brief overview of Simsbury history, and also gives some general information about natives in Connecticut at the time of English settlement.
Williams, Mark. The Brittle Thread of Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.
Williams’ book is an important historical work about Salmon Brook, once a part of the original Simsbury. The author gives a history of the settlement of Simsbury, and eventually how the settlement of Salmon Brook came to be. Additionally, the fate of the Massacoes is discussed, with Williams suggesting massive death by disease and departure from the area.
Vibert, William M. Three Centuries of Simsbury: 1670-1970. Simsbury, CT: Simsbury Tercentenary Committee Inc, 1970.
Vibert covers almost all areas of Simsbury and Massacoe history. He gives details on Massacoe territory, villages, burial grounds, food, weapons and native legends.
Springman, Mary Jane and Alan Lahue. Images of America: Simsbury. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.
This little booklet contains a general history of Simsbury and photographs of early homes and the town. Spring and Lahue only briefly mention the Massacoes in the context of Simsbury history.