What Is Plymouth Rock?
This rock is traditionally held to be the landing site of the Pilgrims in 1620!
What Makes It Historical?
The folks we call Pilgrims today have gone by many names. At the time, they called themselves Saints, while others in England called them Separatists, but holistically, we’d call them Brownists, since they followed the small-community-church philosophy of Robert Browne! Because this went against the Anglican model, the Brownists were considered treasonous, which forced them all into exile, first to Holland, then to Massachusetts Bay Colony. After a stint on Cape Cod, near present day Provincetown, the first 102 Brownist Pilgrims set foot on shore at a place called Plymouth, after the town where they first embarked!
Whether this Dedham granite boulder is where the Pilgrims set foot for the first time is up for debate! Neither the records of Willam Bradford nor Edward Winslow mention a rock, and it wasn’t identified as having anything to do with the Pilgrims until 1741. That’s when a fellow named Thomas Faunce lamented that it was being buried to create a wharf. His father, after all, had assured him that it was indeed the rock where the Pilgrims had disembarked!
Then began Plymouth Rock’s journey about town! The top half was removed to the town square in 1774 as a Revolutionary monument, and it was moved again to Pilgrim Hall on the Fourth of July 1834. In 1867, the bottom half got a Gothic granite canopy, and then, after over 100 years apart, the halves were reunited under a granite canopy in 1880! The magnificent Roman Doric portico over it now was designed in 1921 by the firm of McKim, Mead and White, also known for designing the original Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and the Rhode Island State House!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- 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!
How Do I Get There?
79 Water Street
Plymouth, MA 02360
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!
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