Penobscot - A tribe of the Abnaki Confederacy, who lived in maine.  In the latter part of the sixteenth and early part of the seventeenth centuries.  European map makers believed these Indians had established a fabulous city and that their king, Bashaba, ruled over a large "kingdom"  which extended as far south as Virginia.  Early maps showed this city on the banks of the Norumbega River (the Penobscot River).  Later exploration, however, showed the "city" to be but a small village of Penobscot Indians, the "kingdom" did not exist, and Bashaba was only an ordinary chief.

The Penobscot have remained in their old country to the present day, and several hundred live on Oldtown Island, off the coast of Maine.  With the Passamaquoddy they have a representative at the Maine State Legislature, privileged to speak on tribal matters only.  They have given their name to a bay, river, county, and town in Maine.
 

Related Information within this Site
[ Abnaki ][ Passamaquoddy ]