Mayflower II!

What Is Mayflower II?

This is a historic reconstruction of the original Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrims to Massachusetts in 1620!

What Makes It Historical?

The original Mayflower, captained by Christopher Jones, set sail from Plymouth on September 16, 1620, the third attempt to transport Brownist Pilgrims across the Atlantic. Both of the previous attempts got hindered by her leaky companion ship, the Speedwell, which meant the passengers spent six weeks at sea before actually starting their historic crossing! Ultimately, the Speedwell was declared unfit to sail, and all of her passengers crowded onto the Mayflower: 102 of them, cramped together in the cargo hold for another 66 days of storm-tossed seas!

They missed their target of New Amsterdam by a few degrees and nearly shipwrecked landing at Cape Cod near today’s Provincetown. Here, 41 men drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact, vowing to resolve all issues with a vote, which laid the groundwork for the future United States’ system of representative government! Even so, outer Cape Cod wasn’t working for these Pilgrims, and by December, they came ashore at a disease-ravaged Wampanoag village called Patuxet, which they renamed Plymouth after their departure point. The Mayflower stayed until spring before returning to England, where it was eventually scrapped for parts and nearly lost to history!

To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Plymouth, and to honor the friendship between the USA and the UK during World War II, two groups on both sides of the Atlantic set to researching and reconstructing the Mayflower. On the US side was William A. Baker, and on the British side was Warwick Charlton. The research from the US fueled construction in the UK, and on April 20, 1957, Mayflower II under Captain Alan Villiers sailed from Plymouth. Despite having no experience maneuvering a ship like this in bad weather, they used William Bradford’s old notes to get through a major storm and arrive safely at Plymouth, Massachusetts on June 13, 1957 to a crowd of 25,000! It has been a living history museum here in Plymouth since!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer with Massachusetts State Parks!
Donate to the Plimoth Patuxet Museums!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!