State House Guide Tony Morettini organized a group of 20 people primarily from Bristol, RI to join him on his second walk to Margaret’s Cave, located on private land in Swansea, on June 4, 2022. Click here for a 50-minute video of the walk.

Providence College Professor Dr. Keith Morton welcomed people to his farm that borders the land containing Margaret’s Rock and led the group into the nearby woods where it is located. Along the way, he explained some of the history of the Pokanoket Tribe and the traumatic loss of lives in 1616 that led the Massasoit Ousamequin to enter into a treaty with the English Separatists in Plymouth (Patuxet).

(Above, left) Sowams Heritage Area Coordinator Dr. David Weed picked up the story by telling how Roger Williams walked over sixty miles from Salem, MA to Sowams, the home of the Massasoit, for shelter in January of 1636, as Tony Morettini, far right, and others listen. (Above, right) Dr. Morton goes on to describe some of the tribal history that followed the King Philip War that led to the near genocide of the Pokanoket people.

Heritage Area Project Strategic Advisor Andrea Rounds (above, left) clarifies some of the known facts about Ousamequin and the start of the King Philip War. (Above, right) Dr. Morton concludes the walk by talking about the current uses of the nearby farmland and the challenges of maintaining it.