Found this while looking for the history of Wright Ponds Ashby. This is about the Nipmuck. For example, contains a definition of Hassanamesit (the name of the Grafton praying Indian village):
"The Indian place names translated are in many cases similar to our English ones, but for the sake of euphony, if for no other reason, many of their originals should be retained. Quinsigamond, Wachuset and Hassanamesit are more euphonious than Pickerel Pond, Hill Town and Little Stone Place." [emphasis added]
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This is about rock piles and stone mound sites in New England. A balance is needed between keeping them secret and making them public. Also arrowheads, stone tools and other surface archaeology.
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Just a word of warning -- in a personal correspondence to me, Ives Goddard of the Smithsonian called these place names books unreliable, and that the authors made guesses based on their very limited knowledge of Algonquian language parts, often using word roots from nations in the West. They are practically useless for translation purposes.
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