Delco Indians and some of the names they left us

The Lenni Yorkshire Mills waterfall c.1912

 

Note: There is very little left in Delco of the original residents the Indians. Besides a few trials and campsites, Indian names are still thru out Delaware County.

EARLY SETTLERS IN DELAWARE COUNTY

THE INDIANS

The first people who lived in Delaware County were the Indians.

The early explorers who sailed into the bay and up the river, now called the Delaware, found two Indian tribes living on the western side of the stream.  They were the Lenni Lenapes and the Susquehannocks or Minquas

         The Indians were suspicious of the white men at first, but when the strangers showed goods they had brought for trading, the Indians became more friendly.  They gladly gave food, beaver skins and other furs in exchange for cloth, mirrors, trinkets, and metal knives, axes, and kettles.

         Most of the beaver skins were brought to the river by the Minquas who lived southward along Delaware Bay, and westward in the valley of the Susquehanna River and in the foothills near it.

         The Lenni Lenapes lived on the land, which is now in Delaware and Chester Counties, and in Philadelphia.  This was their land, but the Minquas came through it to hunt or to reach the river.  They followed a trail which is marked on old maps as the Miquas’ or Beaver Trail.

         Once a year, in early spring, the Minquas came down to the mouth of the Schuylkill River to join with the other Indians in catching shad.  These fish came up the Delaware River in great shoals and crowded into the smaller streams to spawn.  The Indians caught the fish in nets made of wild grape vines, then dried them in the sun and kept them for food.

         The Lenni Lenape Indians, who later were called the Delawares by the English, lived in small villages near the river.  They made wigwams of poles covered with bark of trees, raised crops of beans, pumpkins, maize or Indian tobacco.  The men fished in the streams and hunted in the forest with spears and bows and arrows.  Their weapons were made with heads and points of stone.

         The Lenni Lenape women ground corn with a stone and cooked in poorly-made clay pots or in ashes.  They made clothing and moccasins of dried skins.

         The tribe had been very powerful at one time when they lived farther westward, but they had been conquered by the Iroquois Indians who lived in the north.  The Iroquois forced the Lenni Lenapes to live near the river and would not let them fight for their rights.

         The Lenni Lenapes were very much afraid of the conquerors and tried not to get in their way or make them angry.  They also feared the Minquas who were related to the Iroquois.  When the Minquas came through the Lenape hunting grounds to hunt or trade, they were very insulting to the conquered tribe, making fun of them for not fighting, and calling them “cowards” and “women.”

         Since the Lenni Lenapes were not allowed to fight, they were friendly toward the white men who came into their country, first to explore, then to trade and build homes.  They willingly sold their land to the people who came from Europe, but there were many disputes about ownership.  The Indians did not understand the customs of the Europeans and thought they could still live on their land and hunt there after they had sold it.  Often the Indians sold the same piece of land to several buyers, and there were disputes when they all claimed it.

         These disputes over boundaries and ownership were to become very serious.  The early explorers gave favorable reports about the land which is now called Delaware County and Philadelphia.  They described the pleasant climate, the rich soil, the hard wood trees in the forests, and the great variety of animals both for food and for trade.

         People of three nations came from Europe to compete for this land of riches.  The rights of the Indian owners were forgotten.  Today only a few Indian names remind us of the original settlers.

         Here are a few Indian names still used in Delaware County:

              Towns or Villages:  Lenni, Secane, Aronomink, Tinicum, Wawa, Lamokin

               Streams:  Muckinipattus, Naaman, Karakung, Indian name of Cobbs Creek, is used as a street name and as the name and as the name of a Boy Scout District