Massawomeck

The Massawomeck were a people known to the inhabitants of the Chesapeake country for their raids and their long journeys across the mountains. Their neighbours described them as living by a great water beyond the highlands. They fought the Susquehannock and other peoples around the bay, yet also carried goods and furs into the waterways of the region.

In 1608 John Smith encountered a party of Massawomeck in canoes near the head of Chesapeake Bay, returning from a raid against the Tockwogh. After an initially wary approach, they exchanged gifts with the English. In 1632 the trader Henry Fleet sent his brother up the Potomac to invite them to trade directly at the Great Falls. Several parties arrived that summer, bringing furs from the interior.