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{{short description|Native group}}
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'''Kiskiack''' (or '''Chisiack''' or '''Chiskiack''') was a [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]] tribal group of the [[Powhatan Confederacy]]. The name means "Wide Land" or "Bread Place" in the native language, one of the Virginia [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] languages. It was also the name of their village on the [[Virginia Peninsula]]. Later English colonists adopted the name for their own village in that area. The site is now occupied by the US [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]] in [[York County, Virginia]].<ref>[http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/williamsburg/dp-town_wheritage_0718jul18,0,6444758.story "'Kiskiack' was an Indian tribe"], ''Daily Press''</ref> The settlement was {{convert|11|mi|km}} from ''[[Werowocomoco]]'', capital of the Powhatan Confederacy.
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}{{Infobox ethnic group
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|group = Kiskiack
|image =
|population = 40–50 warriors (150–200 people)<br />Now extinct
|regions = [[Virginia Peninsula]]
|pop1 = defunct as tribe
|ref1 =
|religions = [[Folk religion|Native]] (indigenous)
|languages = [[Powhatan language]]
|related = [[Pamunkey]], [[Chickahominy people|Chickahominy]], [[Mattaponi]], [[Rappahannock Tribe|Rappahannock]], and other Powhatan [[Algonquian peoples]]
⚫
}}

'''Kiskiack''' (or '''Chisiack''' or '''Chiskiack''') was a [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]] tribal group of the [[Powhatan Confederacy]] in what is present-day [[York County, Virginia]]. The name means "Wide Land" or "Broad Place" in the native language, one of the Virginia [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] languages. It was also the name of their village on the [[Virginia Peninsula]].

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Later English colonists adopted the name for their own village in that area. The site was later developed for the US [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]] in York County.<ref>[https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20080718-2008-07-18-0807160143-story.html "'Kiskiack' was an Indian tribe"], ''Daily Press''</ref> The settlement was {{convert|11|mi|km}} from ''[[Werowocomoco]]'', capital of the Powhatan Confederacy.


==History==
==History==
In the mid-16th and early 17th century, the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking Kiskiack tribe, of the large [[Powhatan Confederacy]], was located near the south bank of the [[York River (Virginia)|York River]] on the [[Virginia Peninsula]]. The village was a few miles west of what became present-day [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]]. The Kiskiack had built permanent villages, made up of numerous long-houses or ''[[yihakans]]'', in which related families would live, with both private and communal space.
In the mid-16th and early 17th century, the Algonquian-speaking Kiskiack tribe, part of the large [[Powhatan Confederacy]], was located near the south bank of the [[York River (Virginia)|York River]] on the [[Virginia Peninsula]], which extended into the Chesapeake Bay. The present-day city of [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] developed a few miles east of here. The Kiskiack had built permanent villages, made up of numerous long-houses or ''[[yihakans]]'', in which related families would live. The longhouses had both private and communal space.


The Kiskiack were one of the original six tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy. Beginning with the arrival of the [[England|English]] [[colonists]] at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] in 1607, they were generally one of the most hostile toward the English encroachments.{{Citation needed|reason=Apr 2010|date=April 2010}} They were reluctant to give away their goods simply at the request of parties sent from Jamestown to collect corn and other foodstuffs during the first few years after English settlement. But, they were one of the few tribes to be relatively friendly to the English in the First [[Anglo-Powhatan War]].
The Kiskiack were one of the original four tribes of the [[Powhatan Confederacy]], which by the early 17th century included 30 tributary tribes. Beginning with the arrival of the [[England|English]] [[colonists]] at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] in 1607, the Kiskiack were generally one of the most hostile toward the English encroachments.{{Citation needed|reason=Apr 2010|date=April 2010}} They were reluctant to give away their goods to English parties from Jamestown who sought corn and other foodstuffs in order to survive during their first difficult years. But, the Kiskiack were one of the few tribes to be relatively friendly to the English in the First [[Anglo-Powhatan War]].


Kiskiack was only about {{convert|15|mi|km}} from Jamestown, but it was across the Peninsula and along the York River. This area did not receive as many English colonists as did the waterfront along the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]. There settlements kept advancing to the west. In 1612, [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] estimated the Kiskiack population included about 40-50 warriors. [[William Strachey]] recorded the name of their ''[[weroance]]'' as ''Ottahotin''.
Kiskiack was about {{convert|15|mi|km}} from Jamestown, to the north across the Peninsula and located along the York River. This area did not receive as many English colonists as did the waterfront along the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]. In 1612, [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] estimated the Kiskiack population included about 40–50 warriors. [[William Strachey]] recorded the name of their ''[[weroance]]'' as ''Ottahotin''.


The Kiskiack took part in the [[Indian Massacre of 1622]], when they helped kill colonists. The next year the colonists retaliated against them and other nearby tribes, killing about 200 men by giving them poison at a supposed friendly meeting. Some time before 1627, the Kiskiack left their village to migrate west; the English colonists occupied the site in 1629 and retained the name for some time.
The Kiskiack took part in the [[Indian Massacre of 1622]] and helped kill colonists, hoping to drive away the survivors. The next year the colonists retaliated against them and other nearby tribes, killing about 200 men by giving them poison at a supposed friendly meeting. Some time before 1627, the Kiskiack left their village to migrate west; the English colonists occupied the site in 1629 and retained the name for some time.


By 1649 the Kiskiack had settled along the [[Piankatank River]], when the English "granted" their ''weroance'' ''Ossakican'' (or Wassatickon) a reservation of {{convert|5000|acre|km2}}. In 1651, the Kiskiack exchanged this land for another {{convert|5000|acre|km2|adj=on}} tract farther upriver. Soon the English began to encroach on the reservation in [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]] as well. In 1669 the Kiskiack had only 15 bowmen. They last appeared in historical records during [[Bacon's Rebellion]]. They seem then to have merged with other groups, probably the [[Pamunkey]], [[Chickahominy]], or [[Rappahannock]].<ref>Helen Rountree, ''Pocahontas's People'', p. 116-17</ref>
By 1649, the Kiskiack had settled along the [[Piankatank River]], where the English granted their ''weroance'' ''Ossakican'' (or Wassatickon) a reservation of {{convert|5000|acre|km2}}. In 1651, the Kiskiack exchanged this land for another {{convert|5000|acre|km2|adj=on}} tract farther upriver. Soon the English began to encroach on that reservation in [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]] as well. In 1669 the Kiskiack were recorded as having only 15 bowmen. They last appeared in historical records as participants in the 1676 [[Bacon's Rebellion]]. The remaining Kiskiack appear to have merged and intermarried with other groups, probably the [[Pamunkey]], [[Chickahominy people|Chickahominy]], or [[Rappahannock Tribe|Rappahannock]].<ref>Helen Rountree, ''Pocahontas's People'', p. 116-17</ref>


==English settlement and the palisade==
==English settlement and the palisade==
At a meeting held at Jamestown on October 8, 1630, Sir [[John Harvey (Virginia)|John Harvey]], the Governor, and his Council,
At a meeting held at Jamestown on October 8, 1630, Sir [[John Harvey (Virginia governor)|John Harvey]], the Governor, and his Council ordered the granting of lands in this area, noting:
<blockquote>"for the securing and taking in a tract of land called the forest, bordering upon the cheife residence of ye [[Pamunkey]] King, the most dangerous head of ye Indyan enemy," did "after much consultation thereof had, decree and sett down several proportions of land for such commanders, and {{convert|50|acre|m2}} per poll for all other persons who ye first yeare and five and {{convert|20|acre|m2}} who the second yeare, should adventure or be adventured to seate and inhabit on the southern side of Pamunkey River, now called York, and formerly known by the Indyan name of Chiskiack, as a reward and encouragement for their undertaking." <ref>[http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/jamescity/history/oldcapit.txt "Old Capital"], James City, VA History, Rootsweb, US GenWeb</ref></blockquote>{{Dead link|date=April 2010}}
<blockquote>"for the securing and taking in a tract of land called the forest, bordering upon the cheife residence of ye [[Pamunkey]] King, the most dangerous head of ye Indyan enemy," did "after much consultation thereof had, decree and sett down several proportions of land for such commanders, and {{convert|50|acre|m2}} per poll for all other persons who ye first yeare and five and {{convert|20|acre|m2}} who the second yeare, should adventure or be adventured to seate and inhabit on the southern side of Pamunkey River, now called York, and formerly known by the Indyan name of Chiskiack, as a reward and encouragement for their undertaking."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071113044541/http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/jamescity/history/oldcapit.txt "Old Capital"], James City, VA History, Rootsweb, US GenWeb</ref></blockquote>Under this order, colonists built houses on both sides of King's Creek. New ones were added along the south side of York River. The colony decided to fortify the area. In 1634, they erected a [[palisade]] across the Peninsula from [[Martin's Hundred]] to Kiskiack to protect the lower (eastern) area from Indian attacks. [[Middle Plantation (Virginia)|Middle Plantation]], near the center of the palisade, was the first inland settlement. It was established by an Act of Assembly of the [[House of Burgesses]] in 1632. In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] after being designated the capital of the Colony.


==Current uses==
Under this order, colonists built houses on both sides of King's Creek. New ones were added along the south side of York River. The colony decided to fortify the area. In 1634, they erected a [[palisade]] across the Peninsula from [[Martin's Hundred]] to Kiskiack to protect the lower (eastern) area from Indian attacks. [[Middle Plantation]], near the center of the palisade, was the first inland settlement, established by an Act of Assembly of the [[House of Burgesses]] in 1632. In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] after being designated the capital of the Colony.
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The former site of Kiskiack was developed and occupied by the U.S. [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]]. The original Algonquian name, often mispronounced, was the origin of the names of "Cheesecake Road" and "Cheesecake Cemetery", now part of Navy lands in this same area.


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The southern end of Cheesecake Road left the federal property and crossed [[Route 143 (Virginia)|State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail)]], and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]], connecting with [[U.S. Route 60 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail)]] near the western edge of [[Grove, Virginia|Grove]] and the James City County-York County border. It was split by the construction of [[Interstate 64 (Virginia)|Interstate 64]] in the late 1960s.
⚫
The former site of Kiskiack is now occupied by the U.S. [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]]. The original Algonquian name, often mispronounced by the Anglos-Americans, was the origin of "Cheesecake Road" and "Cheesecake Cemetery", also located on Navy lands in the same area.

⚫
The southern end of Cheesecake Road left the federal property and crossed [[Route 143 (Virginia)|State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail)]], and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]], and connected with [[U.S. Route 60 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail)]] near the western edge of [[Grove, Virginia|Grove]] and the James City County-York County border. It was split by the construction of [[Interstate 64 (Virginia)|Interstate 64]] in the late 1960s.

==Kiskiack House==
{{Infobox nrhp
⚫
| name = Kiskiack
| nrhp_type =
| image = Kiskiack, Naval Mine Depot, State Route 238 vicinity, Yorktown vicinity (York County, Virginia).jpg
| caption = Kiskiack
| nearest_city= [[Lackay, Virginia]]
| lat_degrees = 37
| lat_minutes = 14
| lat_seconds = 28
| lat_direction = N
| long_degrees = 76
| long_minutes = 33
| long_seconds = 51
| long_direction = W
| coord_display = inline,title
| locmapin = Virginia
| architecture =
| added = November 12, 1969
| area = {{convert|0|acre}}
| governing_body = DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
| refnum = 69000287
<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>
⚫
}}
<!-- This could easily be a separate article. The NHRP nomination is at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/York/099-0012_Kiskiack_(Lee_House)_1969_Final_Nomination.pdf. There are 50+ images pages on the HABS site:
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.va1007. -->
"Kiskiack" is the name of an early 17th-century brick building, originally a private residence, which still stands at the [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]]. This brick structure, the oldest building owned by the [[U.S. Navy]], is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

The home was built by Dr. Henry Harry Lee, who married Marah Adkins Fulgate. (Lee's descendants called the property Kiskiak.) Marah's father was the [[minister (Christianity)|minister]] who officiated at the 17th-century marriage of [[Pocahontas]] and [[John Rolfe]]. Years later, Barbara Blunt Brooks of Richmond, Virginia donated one of Dr. Lee's hand-crafted tables to the [[Naval Weapons Museum]]. This table is one of two identical tables known to have been made by Lee; the location of the other is unknown.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 59: Line 43:
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
[[Category:York County, Virginia]]
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va1007/ Kiskiack, Naval Mine Depot, State Route 238 vicinity, Yorktown, York County, VA]: 52 photos, 2 color transparencies, 8 measured drawings, 153 data pages, and 6 photo caption pages at [[Historic American Buildings Survey]]
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[[Category:Powhatan Confederacy]]
[[Category:Houses in York County, Virginia]]



[[hr:Chiskiac]]

[[it:Kiskiack]]
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[[Category:Powhatan Confederacy]]

Revision as of 18:20, 15 May 2024

Kiskiack
Total population
40–50 warriors (150–200 people)
Now extinct
Regions with significant populations
Virginia Peninsula
defunct as tribe
Languages
Powhatan language
Religion
Native (indigenous)
Related ethnic groups
Pamunkey, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Rappahannock, and other Powhatan Algonquian peoples

Kiskiack (or Chisiack or Chiskiack) was a Native American tribal group of the Powhatan Confederacy in what is present-day York County, Virginia. The name means "Wide Land" or "Broad Place" in the native language, one of the Virginia Algonquian languages. It was also the name of their village on the Virginia Peninsula.

Later English colonists adopted the name for their own village in that area. The site was later developed for the US Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in York County.[1] The settlement was 11 miles (18 km) from Werowocomoco, capital of the Powhatan Confederacy.

History

In the mid-16th and early 17th century, the Algonquian-speaking Kiskiack tribe, part of the large Powhatan Confederacy, was located near the south bank of the York River on the Virginia Peninsula, which extended into the Chesapeake Bay. The present-day city of Yorktown developed a few miles east of here. The Kiskiack had built permanent villages, made up of numerous long-houses or yihakans, in which related families would live. The longhouses had both private and communal space.

The Kiskiack were one of the original four tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, which by the early 17th century included 30 tributary tribes. Beginning with the arrival of the English colonists at Jamestown in 1607, the Kiskiack were generally one of the most hostile toward the English encroachments.[citation needed] They were reluctant to give away their goods to English parties from Jamestown who sought corn and other foodstuffs in order to survive during their first difficult years. But, the Kiskiack were one of the few tribes to be relatively friendly to the English in the First Anglo-Powhatan War.

Kiskiack was about 15 miles (24 km) from Jamestown, to the north across the Peninsula and located along the York River. This area did not receive as many English colonists as did the waterfront along the James River. In 1612, John Smith estimated the Kiskiack population included about 40–50 warriors. William Strachey recorded the name of their weroance as Ottahotin.

The Kiskiack took part in the Indian Massacre of 1622 and helped kill colonists, hoping to drive away the survivors. The next year the colonists retaliated against them and other nearby tribes, killing about 200 men by giving them poison at a supposed friendly meeting. Some time before 1627, the Kiskiack left their village to migrate west; the English colonists occupied the site in 1629 and retained the name for some time.

By 1649, the Kiskiack had settled along the Piankatank River, where the English granted their weroance Ossakican (or Wassatickon) a reservation of 5,000 acres (20 km2). In 1651, the Kiskiack exchanged this land for another 5,000-acre (20 km2) tract farther upriver. Soon the English began to encroach on that reservation in Gloucester County as well. In 1669 the Kiskiack were recorded as having only 15 bowmen. They last appeared in historical records as participants in the 1676 Bacon's Rebellion. The remaining Kiskiack appear to have merged and intermarried with other groups, probably the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, or Rappahannock.[2]

English settlement and the palisade

At a meeting held at Jamestown on October 8, 1630, Sir John Harvey, the Governor, and his Council ordered the granting of lands in this area, noting:

"for the securing and taking in a tract of land called the forest, bordering upon the cheife residence of ye Pamunkey King, the most dangerous head of ye Indyan enemy," did "after much consultation thereof had, decree and sett down several proportions of land for such commanders, and 50 acres (200,000 m2) per poll for all other persons who ye first yeare and five and 20 acres (81,000 m2) who the second yeare, should adventure or be adventured to seate and inhabit on the southern side of Pamunkey River, now called York, and formerly known by the Indyan name of Chiskiack, as a reward and encouragement for their undertaking."[3]

Under this order, colonists built houses on both sides of King's Creek. New ones were added along the south side of York River. The colony decided to fortify the area. In 1634, they erected a palisade across the Peninsula from Martin's Hundred to Kiskiack to protect the lower (eastern) area from Indian attacks. Middle Plantation, near the center of the palisade, was the first inland settlement. It was established by an Act of Assembly of the House of Burgesses in 1632. In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg after being designated the capital of the Colony.

Current uses

The former site of Kiskiack was developed and occupied by the U.S. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The original Algonquian name, often mispronounced, was the origin of the names of "Cheesecake Road" and "Cheesecake Cemetery", now part of Navy lands in this same area.

The southern end of Cheesecake Road left the federal property and crossed State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail), and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, connecting with U.S. Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail) near the western edge of Grove and the James City County-York County border. It was split by the construction of Interstate 64 in the late 1960s.

See also

References

  1. ^ "'Kiskiack' was an Indian tribe", Daily Press
  2. ^ Helen Rountree, Pocahontas's People, p. 116-17
  3. ^ "Old Capital", James City, VA History, Rootsweb, US GenWeb
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