Northampton massacre 1755
1755 CE.
Shown on the map at 40.750°, -75.310°.
The Northampton massacre was a series of attacks on white settlers in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in December 1755. These attacks terrified the population, who then demanded military protection from the colonial government of Pennsylvania. On 10 and 11 December, a party of Native American warriors (estimates range from 200 to only 5) attacked the Hoeth family farm and killed Frederick Hoeth and his wife, and took three of their children captive. They also set fire to Daniel Brodhead's Plantation, and attacked and burned about a dozen farms in the area. The Moravian mission at Dansbury was also destroyed. In one account of the attacks, 78 people were listed killed and about 45 buildings destroyed. Other sources reported up to 89 dead. These attacks led the provincial government to put Benjamin Franklin in charge of designing a defensive chain of stockade forts and blockhouses to protect European settlements in central and eastern Pennsylvania. This defensive line offered some protection for settlers during the French and Indian War.
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