the Neponset sachem Chickatawbut at the time of contact with English explorers and settlers in the early seventeenth century. Although the Massachusett practiced a seasonally shifting settlement pattern, they have left a lasting impact on the layout of current day Mattapan in the form of footpaths that were adopted and eventually transformed into roadways by later settlers: Mattapan and Lower Mills were the main fords of the Neponset River prior to contact, and present day Adams St and River St connected Mattapan to fishing weirs at Lower Mills and the Muddy River outlet, while Squantum St and Central Ave in Milton connected it to shell fishing at Moswetuset Hummock and quarrying in the Blue Hills, respectively. Dorchester was settled by English colonists in 1630 and a source from 1634 lists "Matampan" as the Massachusett name for Dorchester. Virgin soil epidemics ravaged the Massachusett in the early 1600s, with smallpox killing Chickatawbut and a large portion of his 3000 warriors in 1633, after which his brother and successor as sachem, Cutshamekin sold large portions of Massachusett land along the Neponset River. Migration of Massachusett to praying towns in the mid-1600s and forced internment of Native Americans during King Philip's War led to further declines in native influence on Mattapan, though later Massachusett sachems still held and sold title to lands in Dorchester. Twentieth Century At the turn of the 20th century, the population of Mattapan was largely Caucasian, but starting in the late 1960s, blockbusting intentionally designed to destabilize the neighborhood drove many long-term residents out of Mattapan. In the 1980s, a significant number of Haitians immigrated to Mattapan, leading to the current demographic population. Mattapan has become an important center for the Haitian cultural, social, and political life in the state of Massachusetts. As of 2015, Mattapan also has a large population of African Americans, Jamaicans, and other Caribbean immigrants. During the 1960s and 1970s, Mattapan underwent a major change in the makeup of its population. It shifted from a predominantly Jewish neighborhood to one that is now largely African American and Caribbean American having a population of 37,486 that is over 77% African American and Caribbean American. The period from 1968 to 1970 made up the most dramatic period of ethnic transition in Boston. Hillel Levine and Lawrence Harmon, in their 1991 book The Death of an American Jewish Community, argue that redlining, blockbusting, and fear in neighborhood residents