Rassawek

Rassawek, the principal town of the Monacan Indians, stood nearby, according to Capt. John Smith's 1612 map of Virginia. Several smaller satellite villages were located within a few miles of Rassawek. The Monacans, who belonged to the Siouan language group and were enemies of the Powhatans to the east, occupied Virginia's Piedmont until the expanding English colony pushed them to the west and south. A century after the founding of Jamestown in 1607, only remnants of the tribe survived. Monacan descendants live today near Bear Mountain in Amherst County.