Plymouth, MA
Plymouth was settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620, making it one of the earliest permanent English settlements in New England. Known as “America’s Hometown”, Plymouth is forever connected to the Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, and the story of the first Thanksgiving, as well as the much older history of the Wampanoag people who inhabited this region for thousands of years before the Pilgrims arrived.
Today, its waterfront, historic homes, burial grounds, monuments, and preserved landscapes allow us to explore more than four centuries of history. Plymouth is especially meaningful to us because it is close enough to home that we have returned many times, yet there always seems to be another piece of its remarkable story waiting for us to discover.
Recent Posts
National Monument to the Forefathers
We have visited Plymouth many times over the years, so I am still amazed that it took us this long to discover the National Monument to the Forefathers. When we finally visited this year, I found it almost mind-blowing. Rising more than 80 feet above us, the monument is enormous, intricately sculpted, and filled with […]
Oldest Hearse
Inside Plymouth’s historic courthouse, we came across an object that tells a very different kind of hometown story. This horse-drawn hearse dates to about 1820 and is believed to be the oldest surviving hearse in Plymouth. According to the exhibit, it was stored for many years in a small stone building behind First Church. The […]
National Day of Mourning
Just a short distance from the statue of Massasoit on Cole’s Hill is this small marker recognizing the National Day of Mourning. It presents another part of Plymouth’s history and reminds us that the events of 1620 and 1621 have been remembered very differently by different people. The National Day of Mourning began in 1970, […]
Mayflower Compact
Carved into this stone is the text of the Mayflower Compact, a remarkably short agreement created at an extraordinary moment. Long before there was a permanent settlement at Plymouth, before houses had been built or fields planted, the passengers aboard the Mayflower faced a fundamental question: how would they govern themselves once they went ashore? […]
Mercy Otis Warren’s Table
Among the furnishings inside Plymouth’s 1749 Court House is this table associated with Mercy Otis Warren, one of the most remarkable women of Revolutionary-era Massachusetts. At first it appears to be simply another piece of old courtroom furniture, but the small brass plaque reveals its connection to a woman whose writing helped shape the political […]
Massasoit Statue
Overlooking Plymouth Harbor from Cole’s Hill stands this bronze statue of Massasoit, also known as Ousamequin, the Pokanoket sachem whose leadership played an essential role in the survival of the newly established Plymouth Colony. He was not simply a figure who appeared in the Pilgrim story. He was the leader of a people who had […]
Court Crier Box
Inside the 1749 Court House, this simple wooden enclosure caught my attention. It is a reconstruction of a court crier’s box, representing the place occupied by an official whose voice once helped keep the business of the courtroom moving. The court crier had a surprisingly important role. He was responsible for maintaining order, announcing the […]
Hedge House
Along Water Street, not far from Plymouth Harbor, stands the elegant Hedge House, a reminder that Plymouth’s story extends far beyond the arrival of the Mayflower. Built in 1809, nearly two centuries after the founding of the colony, the house represents a very different period in the town’s history when Plymouth had developed into a […]
1749 Court House
Standing at the top of Town Square is Plymouth’s historic 1749 Court House, a building that has witnessed nearly three centuries of the town’s civic life. Erected in 1749, when Plymouth was still part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay under British rule, it served as the courthouse for Plymouth County and is believed to […]
Mary Cooke Thompson Gravestone
Among the artifacts at Pilgrim Hall Museum is this early New England gravestone for Mary Cooke Thompson, a woman with a direct connection to one of the Mayflower families. Mary was the daughter of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke and his wife, Hester Mahieu. Mary was born in Leiden in the Netherlands, where the English Separatist […]
Brewster Chair
Among the objects in the Pilgrim Hall Museum, this simple wooden chair caught my attention. Known as the Brewster Chair and dating from approximately 1630–1670, it is believed to have belonged to William Brewster, one of the Mayflower passengers and the spiritual leader of Plymouth Colony. Brewster was already about 54 years old when he […]
William Bradford Statue
Standing near Plymouth Harbor is this imposing statue of William Bradford, one of the most important figures in the story of Plymouth Colony. Bradford crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and, after the death of Governor John Carver the following spring, was elected governor of Plymouth Colony. He would serve in that position […]
