The Mattaponi Indian Tribe is based in King William County on the banks of the Mattaponi River where the tribe has its reservation. This 150-acre reservation is part of land confirmed to the Indians in 1658. Today approximately 75 inhabitants live there, although there are 450 on the tribal register. The Mattaponi mission is to maintain a sustainable community on the Mattaponi River. Toward this end, the tribe has built a Fish Hatchery and Marine Science facility funded through numerous grants from foundations and organizations. The Mattaponi work with the shad, as this fish has always been an integral part of the Mattaponi diet and center of their culture. The facility supports programs such as fish tagging, water quality monitoring, and developing education materials for schools and communities about protecting water resources.
The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe in King William County was known as the Adamstown Indians until 1921. The 1673 August Hermann map shows a concentration of Indians living near a town identified earlier by John Smith as Passaunkack. A reservation of Chickahominy and Mattaponi was established there in the late 17th century. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Upper Mattaponi were known as the Adamstown band because so many of them had the last name Adams. In 1919, the tribe built a one-room schoolhouse called the Sharon Indian School. Its 1952 replacement, now on the National Register of Historic Places as the only remaining public Indian school building in the state, is used for tribal meetings and other gatherings.
Mattaponi Tribe
