"A History of West Brookfield 1675-1990"

November 2009

The first published history of West Brookfield entitled " A History of West Brookfield 1675-1990" written by Jeffrey H. Fiske can be purchased at the Post & Boot, the Purple Onion, the Merriam Public Library, the Quaboag Historical Society Museum, and the West Brookfield Town Hall. The cost is $39.95 for a limited time, then it will go up to $49.95. The hard cover Book is 385 pages and includes chapters covering:  Quaboag Plantation, creation of the town, religion, education, agriculture, business and industry, transportation, military, government, sports and recreation, organizations, buildings, people along with 140 nostalgic images. The Forward of the book is written by State Senator Stephen M. Brewer (D-Barre). The book was published by the West Brookfield Historical Commission.

Wheeler's Surprise

June 12-13, 2009

From 1930 Wheeler's Surprise Road Sign

"One mile to the southwest, off the North Brookfield Road, Edward Hutchinson's Company seeking a parley with the Nipmucs was ambushed by Indians August 2, 1675, and more than half were slain. Captain Hutchinson died, from his wounds. Captain Thomas Wheeler was wounded but escaped."

The Event

On Friday, June 12, 2009, the re-enactors set up camp till Sunday at New Braintree town center along with the Society of the 17th Century displaying their period crafts and activities. On Saturday, June 13, the Re-enactment of Wheeler's Surprise took place at the original site of the ambush in New Braintree. This was the first re-enactment of this Event that occurred some 334 years ago.

They came in the name of history and past errors reconciled. They dressed in scratchy uniforms, buckskins, burlap, furs and in not much clothing at all. Breechclouts were in style along with beads and feathers.

Among the visitors were descendants from both sides of the conflict. The Prichard and Ayres families represented their ancestors, the settlers from Quaboag Plantation, who lost their lives at Wheeler's Surprise. The Wampanoag were represented by the brothers, Clifford "Firelight" Soucy and Wind of Thunder, Sagamore of the Pokanoket Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation. The Pokanoket Tribe is the Tribe of King Philip. 

A chicken barbeque followed the re-enactment. Guest speaker author Michael Tougias  displayed and signed a number of his books including "Till I Have No Country" a novel of King Philip's War and "King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict" which he co-authored with Eric Schultz. The first part of his presentation discussed the Indian way of life, colonial settlements, and the events leading up to the war. The second part covered the battles and the strategy during this war.

Article from the "Spencer New Leader", October 24, 2008, by Staff Writer Alana Melanson

A Reunion 300 years in the making

The families of the Quaboag Plantation were reunited for the first time in 333 years last week.

Organized by Charles (Chuck) Prichard of Pasadena, Calif., the historic meeting brought about 60 people representing 11 of the 13 families living and working on the plantation at the time of the 1675 siege, as well as descendants of the Nipmuc Indians and the British troops involved. Descendants traveled to West Brookfield from all over the United States, from as far as Florida, Texas, Arizona and Utah to as close as Connecticut, and congregated at the Salem Cross Inn on both Wednesday, Oct. 15 and Thursday, Oct. 16 to get to know each other and celebrate their ancestry.

Pritchard, a descendant of British immigrant William Prichard, one of the original settlers on Foster Hill, had always been interested in his family's history. He spent about two and a half years searching on the Internet, through history books and Higginson Bookstore in Salem, a wealth of genealogical documents.

" I received thousands of responses from online message boards." Prichard said, "but I had to narrow it down to the ones that were most genealogically interested".

"I feel like I've come 360 degrees," he said. "From our forefathers, 10 generations ago, now coming home, seeing our immigrant roots. It's a journey of love."

Thomas Ayres of Canton, Conn., descendant of John Ayres, another of the plantation founders, had also been interested in genealogy since he was a young man, and is now a genealogist and author.

"You have to act like an investigator putting a puzzle together," he said of the process of uncovering one's roots. Ayres found the missing link in his past through Worcester District Courthouse records, and recommends courthouses as valuable tools in the search.

Col. Jimmie Dean Coy of Columbia, MO., is a descendant of Cpl. Richard Coy. He can trace his ancestry through nearly all of the major wars in the history of the United States from colonial times on, including the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Coy, a veteran of the Gulf War with an impressive military record, is proud of his family's military history.

Don Millett, descendant of Thomas and Mary Millett, came to West Brookfield from Mesa, Ariz., with his wife Donna. Millett discovered the Quaboag Plantation connection when he attended a reunion of Milletts in Main about 10 years ago, and someone suggested he take a ride down to West Brookfield to see the wooden sign bearing the name of his ancestor on Foster Hill. Millett  was moved by the discovery, and had a permanent marble marker made, which Prichard saw and contacted the Milletts.

"Foster Hill actually used to be called Prichard Hill," Prichard said. "It was later renamed after Jedediah Foster, who wrote (the majority of) the Massachusetts Constitution."

William Prichard, along with three other men from Ipswich, came to the Brookfields area in 1660 and bought the land from the Nipmuc Indians, who did not have a concept of land ownership. The Quaboag Plantation was created, encompassing the present-day towns of Brookfield, West Brookfield, East Brookfield, North Brookfield, New Braintree, and Warren, and was later named Brookefield.

Sgt. Prichard, Sgt. Ayres and Cpl. Coy were killed in the ambush that began a three-day siege in 1675, and the remaining inhabitants fled upon the arrival of help from Marlborough. The towns that originally formed the Quaboag Plantation are planning a 350th anniversary celebration of its founding in 2010. More information can be found at www.quaboag350.com or by calling the Quaboag Historical Society at (508)-867-9999.