Weshacum

Weshacum was a name associated with the Nashaway, an Algonquian people of the upper Nashua River valley in New England. Their communities lived near Mount Wachusett and the lakes and streams of central Massachusetts. The area's bands had their own sachems, and formed alliances with neighbouring peoples, including the Pennacook.

In 1643 the Nashaway leader Sholan deeded land to English settlers at Lancaster. Colonial debts and land losses contributed to rising tensions before King Philip's War. In 1674 Peter Jethro was sent as a missionary to Nashaway and Weshacum. After the conflict, surviving Nashaway joined other communities, including the Pennacook and Nipmuc; many died while confined on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. Their descendants maintained connections with communities farther north and west.