If you are wondering how the village of Moosup, CT got its name, you are in the right place. Here, you’ll learn a bit about Moosup, along with how the village got its name.
The state of Connecticut has some cities, towns, & villages with curious names with interesting stories behind them.
Being one of the original 13 American colonies, you can imagine that the Native American influence is strong when it comes to the names of Connecticut’s towns, mountains, and bodies of water.
After all, the name Connecticut is the anglicized spelling of the Algonquian word “Quinnehtukqut”. Connecticut’s name means “the long tidal river” in a language shared by the Mohegan and Pequot Tribes.
What about Moosup, CT – the village located in the town of Plainfield? How did it get its name?
A little bit about Moosup, CT
Moosup, CT is a small village located in the town of Plainfield in Windham County.
This small, eastern CT village has a population of under 4,000 people and is considered fairly rural.
There is a nice, but very small downtown area here, and an annual parade. Other than that, Mossup isn’t particularly well-known for anything other than the river of its namesake.
The Moosup River runs through the Village west to east toward Sterling, CT and Rhode Island.
There’s also a 96-acre lake here called Moosup Pond.
How did Moosup, CT get its name?
The name Moosup is a derivation from the name of a Native American sachem, Maussup. (1623-1676)
The location of Moosup is recorded as being a Mohegan territory by many sources, though sachem Maussup belonged to the Narragansett Tribe.
Sachem Maussup, who was also known by at least 5 other names, became the sachem of the Narragansett Tribe in 1643.
Massaup was a voice for peace during King Philip’s War, but untimately met his death by Mohawk fighters in 1676.
The town wherein Moosup is located, Plainfield, CT, was established just over a decade later, in 1689.
There is documentation of Moosup already being a named village in land disagreements between the settlers following it’s establishment in the late 1600s.
This, again, points to Moosup, CT being named after sachem Maussup.