This historical plaque marks the location of the Wampanoag Indian village of Sowams. It was in use when Massasoit was Sachem of the tribe, although several decades later, his son Metacomet (King Philip) moved the tribe further down the Seekonk River. This plaque describes Massasoit as "Friend of the White Man." Indeed, he sought out and established an excellent relationship with Edward Winslow, the emissary from the Plymouth Bay Colony. Part of this was political necessity since, in the year prior to the arrival of the Mayflower, a plague reduced the Wampanoag to a mere 300 people, down from over 3000. Massasoit sought the security of an English alliance since the Wampanoag were frequently at war with the more powerful Narragansetts and feared extinction. In 1653, Massasoit sold a large tract of Wampanoag land encompassing modern day Swansea, MA and Warren, RI, including the location in today's photo, to the Plymouth Bay Colony. It's interesting to note that the "gushing water" referenced in the plaque no longer exists, although some documents do reference it as late as 1902.
I debated doing this as black and white or color. I didn't think there was sufficient contrast in the original to make a b&w, so decided to take up that challenge and do the conversion. Post processing started with a low contrast detailed filter in Topaz B&W FX. I then adjusted adaptive exposure, contrast, boost black, boost white, protect highlights, and details. I also adjusted the color sensitivity sliders. In PSE I added a levels adjustment, a brightness / contrast adjustment, and a sepia photo filter.
