Editing Woodstock, Connecticut (section)

===17th century===
In the mid-17th century, [[John Eliot (missionary)|John Eliot]], a [[Puritan]] missionary to the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], established "praying towns", where Native Americans took up Christianity and were expected to renounce their religious ceremonies, traditional dress, and customs. One praying town, called Wabaquasset (Senexet, Wabiquisset), six miles west of the [[Quinebaug River]] in present-day Woodstock, was the largest of the three northeastern Connecticut praying towns.

In 1675, when [[King Philip's War]] broke out, some of the town's Indians, (especially in the southern part of the town) sided with the Mohegans and the English while others sided with the Indians led by Philip, rallying to arms on what is now Curtis Island in present Holland, Massachusetts and Brimfield, Massachusetts. During the war, the praying town became deserted, and the English with their Indian allies marched through Woodstock to present day Thompson in the summer of 1676 burning any crops or stored corn they could find.<ref name="history">[http://www.townofwoodstock.com/history.html] "A Brief History of Woodstock" Web page on the Woodstock, Connecticut official town Web site, accessed July 30, 2006</ref>

In 1682, Massachusetts bought a tract of land, which included Woodstock, from the Mohegans. A group of 13 men from [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]] (home of the Pastorate of Woodstock's earlier visitor, John Eliot), settled the town in 1686 and named it New Roxbury. Judge Samuel Sewall suggested the town change its name to Woodstock in 1690, citing its proximity to [[Oxford, Massachusetts]], and in 1749 the town became part of Connecticut.<ref name=history/> The present name is after [[Woodstock, Oxfordshire|Woodstock]], in England.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoEyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA335|year=1903|publisher=Connecticut Magazine Company|page=335}}</ref>