Wiqômun!  Wuyeepuyôq!  Saygo! Welcome!

Connecticut is from an Algonquian Indian word “quinetucket” that means “beside the long tidal river” and refers to the Connecticut River that flows through the middle of the state. Long before colonists wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639, Native peoples inhabited the lands.  The Pequots, Mohegans, Paugussetts, and Schaghticokes have lived on the lands now called Connecticut for some 12,000 years before European settlement.  Their place names appear all throughout the state from rivers like the Quinnipiac and Housatonic to towns like Noank and Mystic to street names where I grew up in Fairfield like Nonopoge Road (meaning “fresh water or pond”) and Tahmore Drive (meaning “hearts together”).   

Note: This website will continue to be updated throughout the spring and summer of 2023.

Sources:

“Early History,” CT.gov, accessed March 4, 2023, https://portal.ct.gov/About/Early-History.

“Our History,” Lake Hills Association, accessed March 4, 2023, https://www.lakehillsfairfield.com/about-more.