This place was called "Wantastiquet"[10] by the Abenaki people, which meant "lost river", "river that leads to the west", or "river of the lonely way". The Abenaki would transit this area annually between their summer hunting grounds near Swanton, and their winter settlement near Northfield, Massachusetts. The specific Abenaki band who lived here and traversed this place were called "Sokoki", meaning "people who go their own way" or "people of the lonely way".

Wikipedia