Native
Americans
Legend has it that the Native Americans of the area considered Mt. Wachusett and the other nearby mountain chains sacred. The name "Watatic" has been said to mean “wigwam place” in Algonkian. Even today, people carry stones to Watatic’s deity to ward off misfortune at home. Atop Mt. Watatic is a poem, inscribed in stone, written by Liz Coooper, a resident of Freedom's Way. From Watatic, hikers can continue into the New Hampshire mountains along the Wapack Trail or follow the Mid-State trail south.
In Westminster and Princeton is Mt. Wachusett, the tallest mountain in east central Massachusetts. Henry David Thoreau once called the mountain the “observatory of the state.” The ransom of Mary Rowlandson, who was captured during King Philip’s War, occurred at Redemption Rock, in Princeton, adjacent to the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation and ski area. The area is a confluence of native trails that lead in all directions.
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| View from Mt. Watatic |