The Tefft’s were both farmers and landowners, founded by family patriarch John Tefft in the 1600's. His son Joshua played a decisive roles in King Philip's War (1675-6), including the Battle of the Great Swamp. On the bitterly cold day of December 19, 1675, Josiah Winslow led over 1,000 United Puritan Colonial troops from nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut, along with about 150 Pequot and Mohegan natives, converged on South Kingstown, intending to take the Native American fortress by force.

Though the Narragansett tribe was not directly involved in the King Philip's War, they were allegedly sheltered many of King Philip's men, women and children with several of his warriors. In the celebrated Battle of the Great Swamp which followed, Joshua Tefft either willingly, or because he was kidnapped by the Narragansett Indians (the record is unclear), fought side-by-side with the Narragansett Indians against the Colonial troops. The fortress was eventually overrun and Joshua was captured, hanged and quartered for his participation.

The Narragansett Tribe, which had been quasi-neutral to that point, joined forces with Metacomet (aka. King Phillip, son of Massasoit who earlier helped the Pilgrims survive in the new world). The Battle of the Great Swamp was a critical defeat for the Narragansett Tribe, one which they would not ever fully recover from. Joshua’s remains are buried in a grave site on preserved land adjacent to the Tefft Hill neighborhood. We thank the Tefft family and historians for providing some of this information and photos.