posted on 9/5/2023

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources installed a historical maker this week on Central Avenue that briefly details the retribution of Native Americans against Major Richard Waldron, where 100 Pennacook killed Waldron and 22 others in 1689. The retribution came 13 years after Waldron and three other militias had rounded up 350 Pennacook and their allies were captured and taken to Boston, where eight were killed and others were enslaved. The historical marker was installed on Central Avenue at the corner of Second Street. Waldron’s garrison was located where the old courthouse now stands between First and Second streets. The City Council voted in 2022 to support the state’s request to install the marker.

The text of the historical marker is as follows:

In Sept. 1689 (sic), 100 Pennacook attacked Cocheco (sic), killing Maj. Richard Waldron in revenge for his treachery thirteen years earlier. In 1676, Waldron had invited 400 local Native refugees who had recently fought the English in King Philip's War to a feast. Following orders from the Mass. General Court, Waldron's and three other milita surrounded and attacked his guests. Three hundred and fifty Pennacook and their allies, including 250 women and children, were captured and taken to Boston, where eight were killed and the rest enslaved. Waldon's (sic) deceit turned the once peaceful Pennacook into enemies of the English.