Central MA

Redemption Rock

Princeton

1/4 acre

A modest-sized reservation with a momentous history, King Philip's War hostage Mary White Rowlandson was released from captivity here in April 1676.

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Plan Your Visit
  • Overview
  • Ideas for Your Visit
  • Admission & Hours
  • Directions & Contact Info
  • Property Map
  • Regulations & Advisories

Overview

While the reservation is only a quarter-acre in size, Redemption Rock boasts a significant history. The granite ledge is inscribed with the story of the colonial hostage negotiation and release of Mary White Rowlandson from captivity.

Angered by the spread of colonial settlements westward, the chief Metacomet (known to European settlers as King Philip) led the Nipmuc, Narragansett, and Wampanoag in defense of their land. In February 1676, several hundred indigenous peoples attacked Lancaster and captured Mary White Rowlandson, her three children, and 20 others, and took them into the wilderness for several months. They returned to Lancaster in late April 1676 where, as the inscription says, John Hoar of Concord negotiated Mary’s release at this huge, flat-topped granite ledge.

Ideas for Your Visit

The reservation, surrounded by watershed lands owned by the City of Fitchburg, is a link in the 92-mile Mid-State Trail.

Admission & Hours

Free to all. Open sunrise to sunset.

Please note that the parking lot is not plowed in the winter.

Directions & Contact Info

Route 140
Princeton, MA 01541

Email: info@thetrustees.org

Get directions on Google Maps.

Directions
From Points East: Rt. 2 West to Exit 95, Rt. 31 South. Follow 3.8 mi. Take sharp right onto Rt. 140 North. Follow 0.9 mi. to entrance on left.

From Points West: Rt. 2 East to Exit 92, Rt. 140 South. Follow 3 mi. to entrance and parking (3 cars) on right.

 

 

Property Map

This property does not have an available trail map.

Regulations & Advisories

  • Hunting is not permitted at this reservation. Learn more about hunting on Trustees properties.
  • Please note that the parking lot is not plowed in the winter.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: We ask that photographers or their clients become Contributing Level Members before conducting portrait sessions at this property.  Click here for more information, and to request permission for any portrait sessions. The Trustees of Reservations reserves the right, and may give permission to its designated photographers and videographers, or to outside media, to photograph or video visitors and program participants at all its facilities and properties.
Before Setting Out
More to Explore

History

Mary White Rowlandson (1637-1711) told her own story in “The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” which first appeared in public in 1679, three years after her capture and release. It would become a 17th-century bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic with 15 editions published before 1800. According to Neal Salisbury, who re-published Mary’s narrative in 1997 as “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God,” in 1653, Lancaster was a frontier town in the “wild, wild west” of Massachusetts.

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The View From Here
See What People Say

Cool little place unexpected right off the highway. Stop and read the history, take a trail hike or just climb up the rock and be with nature.

NH-Enigma1989, Trip Advisor

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