The most familiar legend surrounding any of Swansea’s rocks is the legend of Abram’s Rock. The legend of Abram’s Rock has been passed on for more than three-hundred years. The Swansea Historical Society’s Annual Abram’s Rock Walk took place on Sunday, October 30, 2022 with Professor Paul Cote telling the story. Click here for a four-minute video of the event by the Swansea Community Network.

(Above) Professor Cote tells the huge crowd about the legend of the rock that illustrates that King Philip’s War was also a civil war between and amongst the Native American. According to Cote, it was both a conflict against the English, usurpers of Indian lands and exploiters of Indian labor, and those Indians who viewed the English as the future and their culture as beneficial and more efficient.

Adding to the credibility of the story is a deed issued to a Jonathan Hill dated 1700, twenty-five years after the end of the War. A boundary mark in the deed cites the Rock of Abram, seen above. The giant boulder behind the Library on Main Street, having been named for Abram, indicates the respect the English had for Abram.

Professor Cote offers a Prayer to the Four Directions (North, South, East and West) while holding a shell with burning tobacco. Click here for a page describing the legend associated with the Rock.