Redemption Rock Trail North

At first glance you might think Redemption Rock Trail North was just another big boulder sitting inconspicuously in the woods. But if you take the time to get an up close look, you’ll notice that Redemption Rock has actually been completely inscribed with words.  On February 10, 1676 Native Americans attacked the Massachusetts town of Lancaster, capturing more than 20 people, including Mary White Rowlandson and her children. The tribes, angered by the spread of colonial settlements, took the hostages and held them against their will in the surrounding woods for months. Finally in April of 1676, an agreement was made to negotiate, and the Wampanoag leader, Metacomet, or as he was known to the English, “King Philip,” brought his hostages to a neutral area. That point was a large flat rock in the woods, now known as Redemption Rock.  The Native Americans and the Colonial settlers negotiated the release of Mary, her children, and the fellow hostages. Mary went on to write a book about her experiences as a prisoner that became an international best seller.  To commemorate the historical location. the rock was covered with this inscription:  “Upon this rock May 2, 1676 was made the agreement for the ransom of Mrs Mary Rowlandson of Lancaster between the Indians and John Hoar of  Concord. King Philip was with the Indians but refused his consent.” Today Redemption Rock can be found along a hiking trail, where guests can stop and take photos of such a cool piece of American history. -Roadtrippers Redemption Rock is a colonial-era historic site in Princeton, Massachusetts. In 1676, during King Philip's War, the release of Mary Rowlandson (the wife of a Puritan minister) from her Native American captors was negotiated atop a granite ledge. The .25-acre (0.10 ha) parcel upon which the rock stands was acquired by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations in 1953, and is open to the public. Rowlandson would later write about her experience in A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, considered a seminal work in the American literary genre of captivity narratives. Redemption Rock is located off Massachusetts Route 140, near Wachusett Mountain.