On Sale Now

Reconnections:

A New History of The Sakonnet Wampanoag People

This is the second volume in our two-volume Reconnections series. Written by a team of five authors, including two local historians, a history and public humanities professor, a Wampanoag educator, and an archaeologist, Reconnections: A New History of the Sakonnet Wampanoag People is a local history that focuses on Sakonnet and the Indigenous people who have lived here for 13,000 years. Based on primary source research, archaeological evidence, and Wampanoag traditions, the book shares the history of the Sakonnet Wampanoag people from the time of the last ice age to the present day in an accurate and respectful way.

It is the companion book to Reconnections: Essays and Artwork by Wampanoag & Narragansett Knowledge Keepers which was published in 2025. Both books are part of the Historical Society’s Sakonnet History Project.

Buy a Book

Explore our new outdoor exhibit!

This summer, we will join the town of Little Compton and the nation as we celebrate and commemorate the United States’ 250th year. Our Revolutionary Little Compton exhibit will be displayed outdoors at the Historical Society and at select sites in the community from July to October. The exhibit banners will feature fascinating, well-researched information exploring the often-harrowing, Revolutionary-era experiences of Little Compton’s men, women, and children and the sacrifices they made for freedom. We are also very pleased to announce that Revolutionary Little Compton will be available in book form in the late summer.

Dive deeper into the Revolutionary Little Compton exhibit with our online guide through Bloomberg Connects

Coming soon: Revolutionary Little Compton will be available in book form

Recording of LCHS Annual Meeting 2025

Talk begins at 11 minutes and 45 seconds

A NEW HISTORY OF THE SAKONNET WAMPANOAG PEOPLE

Presented by Marjory O’Toole, LCHS Executive Director

New research conducted over the last fifteen years has dramatically changed and broadened our understanding of the history of the Sakonnet Wampanoag people. We’ve been learning from Wampanoag advisors and studying historic documents, the archaeological record, and the Sakonnet landscape. LCHS Executive Director Marjory O’Toole will share some of what we have learned about seventeenth-century Sakonnet sachems like Awashonks, Takamona, and Mamanuah along with lesser-known individuals from more recent times including Sue Codimonk, Moses Suckanush, and Thomas Cooper. The talk will explore the tactics Plymouth Colony employed to purchase Sakonnet against Awashonks’ will and how the Sakonnets and their Acoaxet neighbors responded to the arrival of English newcomers and then continued to live on their homelands and within neighboring Native communities.

Due to time constraints this video includes approximately half of the intended content. Look for a Zoom talk in the fall to hear the rest of the story.