Aquetong
"At the place of bushes"
This naturally occurring artesian spring is supplied by an underground aquifer. It is located along Lower Mountain Road in Solebury Township just south of route 202 between New Hope and Lahaska at an elevation 170 feet above sea level.
The Lenape believed the water of the spring to have restorative powers and thus this was a site for spiritual renewal for indigenous travelers. Tribal members continue to conduct sacred ceremonies here on the equinoxes and solstices.
The flow of this spring is 3,000,000 gallons in 24 hours. The water comes out through fissures in the bedrock and forms a pool about 12 feet deep, 40 feet wide and 75 feet long. William Penn granted 600 acres of land in the early 1700s to his Secretary, John Logan. Included in that acreage was the Aquetong Spring. Logan then leased it to Jonas Ingham who held it until 1754. Today the site is known as Ingham Spring.
Holleconk
"Hole in the valley"
The site was once an indigenous village along a huge sink hole, and was located a few hundred feet east of Holicong Road at the current location of the village of Holicong in Buckingham Township.
The Konkey Hole sink hole is 120 feet in diameter, the surface of the water being 40-60 feet below the rim. According to historical accounts chaff thrown into the pool would exit at Ingham Spring 3 miles to the East.
There are several Lenape legends connecting Ingham Spring and Konkey Hole
All are based on the belief that there is a great underground river that connects the two locations
The most romantic version is depicted in Peter Hurd's Painting the Legend of Ingham Spring: A young Lenape brave with a broken heart tries to take his own life by plunging into the pool at Konkey Hole. He arrives at Ingham Spring, unscathed. Upon hearing the tale, the woman whom he loved changed her mind and agreed to become his bride.
According to William W.H. Davis's History of Bucks County: At Konkey Hole in 1775, Isaac Still, the leader of the Lenape, is said to have gathered some forty of his people, the last of the Lenape in Bucks County, to go westward to the Wabash, far 'from war and rum,' These were mostly females, the men having gone before. The women marched off in regular order, bareheaded, each with a large pack on her back fastened with large straps across the forehead. Today, we know some Lenape stayed behind, hiding their identities but passing their culture to future generations.
Quatalossi Village and Creek
“the place of the middle fountain” or “the place where there are three springs.”
This indigenous town was believed to be located at the headwaters of today's Cuttalossa Creek in a meadow off Aquetong Road. Cuttalosa Creek rises from two springs just over a mile to the west of the village of Solebury in Solebury Township at an elevation of 410 feet. Cuttalosa Road crosses over the stream five times before it reaches the Delaware River.
Between 1702 and 1704, William Penn granted large tracts of land in and around the valley to land speculators including: Thomas Croasdale, George White and William Beaks. Among the earliest settlers was Henry Paxson, who is believed to have built a home just south of the valley in 1704.
A Lenape named Peg, the daughter of Tuckamony, remained in the area. Her family lived by making fine baskets which they traded at the local store for goods. They cut splints in the adjacent woods for dyeing and weaving.
Christopher Willett (American, b. 1959), Tuckamony Farm Christmas Trees
Artihickhanne/ Hartyaken Creek
"At the place where the bullet mold was hidden"
This Lenape creek is located on the North Branch section of the Neshaminy Creek about 2 miles down upon a property now called the Highlands that was owned for several generations by the Stewart family. In 1863, it was transformed into the mining village of New Galena when lead was found on the site.
The Lenape word for this creek was always associated with the apocryphal tale from this area of "Indians finding gun lead for white hunters" - all the more so, after the discovery of Galena ore.
Menahakonk Island
"At the end of the flow"
This 300 acre island in the Delaware River was conveyed to William Biles, an English settler, in about 1680 "...by four local Lenapes, Orecton, Nannacus, Patelana, and Nenemblahocking, for a total of ten pounds." This island came to be known as Biles Island and is located in Falls Township in Bucks County.
By the time of his death, William Biles owned 20,000 acres of land in New Jersey, 300 acres in Pennsylvania, and 1,000 acres in Delaware. His home was very close to William Penn’s rural Pennsbury estate.
By 1790, William Biles owned two riverfront parcels and a separate inland parcel with his brother Charles, as well as the aforementioned island.
Neshaminink
"At the place we drink twice"
Neshaminy Creek is a 40 mile long stream that flows southeast through Bucks County and empties into the Delaware River at Croydon. William Penn bought the acreage from the Lenape after his arrival in 1682. He subdivided and sold it to European settlers.
Over time the colonists cleared much of the land embracing both sides of the creek on the Northampton-Newtown Township border, to create 18 farmsteads.
A perilously perched stone outcropping 200 feet above the Neshaminy called “Indian Council Rock” was rumored to be a gathering place for Lenape Leaders in pre-Colonial times.
Nockamixon
Alternately translated to mean "where there are three houses" or "at the place of the soft soil"
Nockamixon was believed to be the home of the Lenape leader, Nutimus. When his grandfather, Tammanend died, Nutimus took up residence on ancestral land between the Tohickon Creek and the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania. In the 1970's the area was terraformed to create the Lake Nockamixon reservoir which is now Bucks County's largest lake, at 1,450 acres.
The idea of ownership of property was different for the Lenape. An 18th century anecdote shared by Benjamin Williams Sr., clarifies these issues; “...soon after taking possession of the land in Nockamixon, he found young Indians roaming over it at will, gathering the apples from his trees and taking them away... Benjamin expostulated with Nutimus and asked why they did it. Nutimus replied, it was true that the Indians had sold the land, but not the apples or the spring. Benjamin asked how much they wanted for the apples and the spring, and the Sachem replied 5 bushels of Indian Corn, five bushels of Buckwheat and five loaves of rye bread. After that, the spring and apples were not disturbed.
From 1734 to 1737, Nutimus was involved in a series of meetings with the Penns concerning land purchases. In 1737, he signed the deed for the Walking Purchase, but later protested the manner in which the walk was performed. Instead of the agreed upon day and a half walk, the Penn's men ran the distance, tripling the amount of land to be included in the deal. Nutimus's complaints were dismissed and he was eventually forced to move westward with his people, setting up a new town near Nescopek.
Pechoqueolin
"A place between two hills"
There are many accounts of a Lenape Village in Durham called Pechoqueolin. Where exactly it stood is unknown. There are several possible village sites. Some speculate it began 100 yards north of Durham Cave and extended to the built up part of Riegelsville.
The Lenape quarried jasper on this site at what is today known as Rattlesnake Hill. The Lenape dug giant mine shafts, and then used fire to heat the jasper and break it away from the surrounding rock. They transported the raw jasper back to the village where it was shaped by skilled craftsmen who traded the stone with other villages, often hundreds of miles away.
The Legend of the Shawnee and the Lenape at Pechoqueolin (1698-1727)
Reported to have occurred on the Jersey side of the Narrows
Legend says that the Lenape and Shawnees fought the great battle of the Grasshopper War on the east side of the river opposite Pechoqueolin. At first the people of both villages shared good relations, hunting, working and playing together. One day, a boy from the village across the river followed a streak of green in the grass, soon catching the largest grasshopper he had ever seen. One of the boys from the other village grew envious. He snatched the grasshopper, setting off a fight first between the two boys and soon amongst all the children. Soon the village women rushed over, in response to the squabble, and began to choose sides in the fight. When the men returned from the day's hunt, anger then grew between the men too, and the battle continued on. To this day visitors to the field where the battle took place find arrowheads left from the epic battle.
Perkasie
"Where the hickory nuts were cracked"
The indigenous village of Perkasie was about 30 miles north of Philadelphia in what was later the Manor of Perkasie, and now is in Hilltown Township, near present Mount Pleasant and village of Hilltown, and in the vicinity of Silverdale.
In 1683, on May 24 and 25, William Penn met with several Lenape leaders in Perkasie including Idquoqueywon, Menangy and Tammaned, to treat and lay the groundwork for a Land Treaty which was signed a month later by all parties in Philadelphia.
Playwicki
Translated as "Place full of turkeys" - alternately translated as "A habitation of those in the Turkey Tribe"
What was believed to be the largest and most important indigenous town in Bucks County was located on what would become the farm of Vinder Vanartsdalen in Southampton Township three miles west of Langhorne Bucks County PA.
William Penn referenced “Playwicki” on a 1682 land grant he negotiated with the tribe. Two years later, Penn sold the tract to Christopher Taylor who leveled remnants of the village for an asparagus farm. The property changed hands several times. In 1764, it was purchased by a Dutch farmer Simon Van Arstdalen. Excavations in 1893 by Henry Mercer, 1923 by state archeologists and 1993 by the Bucks County Conservancy turned up arrow heads, pottery, tools and other Native American artifacts.
Poquessing Creek
"Place of the mice"
There was likely an Lenape Village at this creek with the same name. The creek has defined the border between Philadelphia and Bucks County since William Penn arrived in 1682. The mouth of this creek on the Delaware River was known for many years as Old Philadelphia, as it was once proposed as the site for Penn's capital city.
Ptuk womp unk (Buckwampum)
"The round bog"
This 820 foot tall hill is noted by both the Lenape and contemporary naturalists for its unusual flora and medicinal plants. Buckwampum Hill is in the eastern part of Springfield Township, Bucks County, not far from either the Durham or Bethlehem Roads. This unique hill is also known for the fact that it has a swamp on the top.
Tradition says that the Lenape lived, foraged for medicinal plants and hunted near here up until the time of the American Revolution.
Sanckhickan
"Flint Rocks at the end of the tide"
Sanckhickan was the Lenape name for the Falls of the Delaware at Trenton. The name for this locale was first recorded by the Swedish surveyor and engineer, Campenius, in 1642. The clan, which occupied sites on the opposite side of the Delaware, was also known as Sanckhickan.
The Lenape excavated out-croppings of gravel and quartzite to make tools, and they crossed the river regularly at this location. Much later a ferry service was started at this spot, connecting New York City and Philadelphia.
Sipaessink
"At the place of the wild plum"
The name Sipaessing applied equally to the Lenape village and to the stream by which it was situated. William Penn purchased the land and built his country seat, Pennsbury Manor, on the site and rechristened the creek as Welcome Creek. (Today it is known as Scott's Creek)
MAX ROSENTHAL (1833-1918), RELIQUES OF WILLIAM PENN IN PHILADELPHIA IN 1864
Tennakonck
"Along the edge of the island"
This Lenape name applies to a township, creek and an island in the Delaware River in northeastern Bucks County. Peter Lindestrom spells it Tennakonk on his map of 1654. William Penn referred to is as “an Indian township” in his correspondence with James Logan, though there is no evidence of a Lenape village in this area.
Tohickhan
"The driftwood stream" or "the stream over which we pass by the bridge of driftwood"
Tohickon Creek starts in Springfield Township and meets the Delaware at Point Pleasant. A number of caves along the creek likely served as temporary shelters to the Lenape. The creek also played a part in the infamous Walking Purchase land swindle of 1737.
According to the Walking Purchase, The Lenape believed they had agreed to sell the land that could be walked in a day and half. Based on their knowledge of the land, they anticipated that walk would go from Wrightstown to the Tohickon Creek. Instead the "walkers" ran the distance, passing the creek after only three hours.
Tooqueminsey
“At the place of the black walnut trees.”
This Lenape village was originally located between the Delaware River and the Village of Center Hill north of the Upper York Road in what is now Solebury Township. The land was first surveyed by John Cutler in 1702 and a deed was made out to William Croasdale on the 15th of the 9th month in 1704. He was the first white settler to locate here.
Winnahawchunick
"At the hillside near the water"
Winnahawchunick was a thriving Native American village encompassing 500 acres from the hill to the river’s edge. This village was located along the banks of the Delaware River just above Bowman’s Tower. It was referred to in local deeds of 1690 and 1701. The actual site of the town is now part of the area used for Boy Scout encampments on the river side of the Delaware Canal, not far from the Thompson-Neely House.