MASSACHUSET HISTORY Massachuset Location Valleys of the Charles and Neponset rivers in eastern Massachusetts, including the present site of Boston and its suburbs. Population In 1614 there may have been as many as 3, 000 Massachuset living in 20 villages around Boston Bay, but by the time the Pilgrims arrived in 1620 there were less than 800. In 1631 the Puritans counted less than 500. No ...