Susquehannock (Conestoga) People

Origins and Territory

The Susquehannock were an Indigenous nation who lived along the Susquehanna River in what is now central Pennsylvania. Linguistic and cultural evidence suggests connections to the Iroquoian language family, and some historians believe they separated from related northern groups around the 1300s.

By the 1500s, the Susquehannock had established settlements in the lower Susquehanna Valley, including areas that are today Lancaster, Dauphin, Berks, Northumberland, and Schuylkill counties. They were known as skilled traders and formidable warriors, and in the early 1600s engaged in conflicts with neighboring Iroquois nations.

Colonial Expansion and Frontier Tensions

During the late 1600s and early 1700s, warfare, disease, and shifting alliances dramatically reduced the Susquehannock population. In 1675, after defeat in regional conflicts, many were forced south into Maryland. When some later returned to Pennsylvania, they became known as the Conestoga Indians, named after Conestoga Creek in Lancaster County.

At the same time, European settlers—many fleeing religious persecution—were moving into Pennsylvania in increasing numbers. The frontier north of Blue Mountain was often described by colonists as "wilderness," though it was long inhabited and actively used by Indigenous peoples.

Sites such as Pilger's Rue ("Pilgrim's Rest"), a spring along the Tulpehocken Path visited in 1742 by Moravian missionary Count Zinzendorf, became waypoints for settlers traveling toward Shamokin and Wyoming. As colonial settlement expanded, pressure on Indigenous lands intensified.

The Conestoga Massacre (1763)

In December 1763, amid the broader conflict known as Pontiac's Rebellion, a vigilante group called the Paxton Boys targeted the small, peaceful Conestoga community living near Lancaster.

On December 14, 1763, more than fifty armed men attacked the Conestoga village near present-day Millersville, killing six residents and burning their homes. The surviving fourteen Conestoga were taken into protective custody in the Lancaster workhouse by order of Governor John Penn. On December 27, the Paxton Boys broke into the building and murdered all fourteen individuals.

These killings, known collectively as the Conestoga Massacre, effectively destroyed the remaining Susquehannock/Conestoga community in Pennsylvania. Although warrants were issued, no one was convicted.

The violence did not end there. In early 1764, the Paxton Boys marched toward Philadelphia, threatening other Indigenous people who had sought refuge there. Benjamin Franklin helped negotiate a peaceful resolution, and British troops prevented further bloodshed.

Among the tragic ironies of the massacre was the reported discovery of a copy of William Penn's 1701 treaty with the Conestoga, which pledged that colonists and Indigenous peoples would "live in true Friendship & Amity as one People."

Legacy

The destruction of the Conestoga community symbolizes the breakdown of early treaty relationships and the increasing instability of Pennsylvania's frontier in the eighteenth century. It also highlights the tensions between colonial governments, frontier settlers, and Indigenous nations.

Today, the Susquehannock are remembered through historical research, archaeological sites, and public acknowledgment of the Conestoga Massacre as one of the most significant acts of anti-Indigenous violence in colonial Pennsylvania.