Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. As such, early Lancastrians had a special relationship with the Native peoples who were already living there. Fruitlands Museum Interpreter Amy Brown discusses who these people were, how they lived, the relationships that they formed with Lancaster’s European settlers and how these relationships changed over time. Click here for a 53-minute presentation about the Nipmuc Tribe given at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster, MA and posted on January 8, 2026 by Sterling-Lancaster Community Television.

Brown began her talk by introducing the Nipmuc Tribe who currently live on the land in Central Massachusetts. She then described the 17th century history and lifestyle of the Tribe.

After pointing out their major settlements, she went on to point out their differences from the colonists and how they related to one another.

Brown spoke about John Eliot‘s efforts to convert Native people to Christianity by locating them in Praying Towns throughout Massachusetts. She concluded her remarks by describing the Tribe today and their museum on their land in Grafton, MA.