Norridgewock Archeological District (also known as Old Point or Norridgewock Mission Site (ME 069-2) or Tracy Farm) is a national historic landmark district beside the Kennebec River

Kennebec River

The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...

 in Madison, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. Until 1724, it was home to the Norridgewock

Norridgewock

The Norridgewock were a band of the Abenaki Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The tribe occupied an area in Maine to the west and northwest of the Penawapskewi tribe, which was located on the western bank of the Penobscot River...

 Abenakis, whose turbulent history is indelibly linked with that of their Jesuit missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

, Sébastien Rale

Sébastien Rale

Sébastien Rale, , , was a Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who worked among the eastern Abenaki people, but became caught up in political and military struggles between New France, New England and the natives, which would claim his life during Dummer's War.-Early years:Born in Pontarlier, France,...

.

The district was designated a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 and added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1993.