During the last periods before European explorers and colonists arrived, Native Americans inhabited Davids Island. By the mid 17th century, the area that would become New Rochelle was inhabited by a Native American group known as the Siwanoy. Archeological evidence from Davids Island indicates that Native Americans inhabited the island from 1,000 to 1,500 AD. Native Americans began to withdraw from New York's coastal areas in the 1600s, as European traders and colonists began to enter the region. In 1654, Thomas Pell acquired from the Siwanoys title for the land that now includes Davids Island and southern Westchester County.