29 chapters
2 hour read
Selected Chapters
29 chapters
A GUIDE TO PLYMOUTH And Its History
A GUIDE TO PLYMOUTH And Its History
Compiled from Inscriptions on Tablets , Monuments & Statues erected in Honor of Its Founders THE PILGRIMS , or given in prose or verse on Occasions of Memorial Celebrations By Helen T. Briggs and Rose T. Briggs Illustrated by Raymond C. Dreher PUBLISHED BY THE PILGRIM SOCIETY and THE PLYMOUTH ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY Copyright, 1938 By The Plymouth Antiquarian Society THE MEMORIAL PRESS PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts...
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
Plymouth preserves with loyal respect the places which are associated with her Forefathers, the Pilgrims. In the town they founded, tablets, statues, and public monuments bear witness to the veneration that historical societies, the State, and the Nation, hold for the memory of that small group of men and women, simple in their origin, exalted in their purpose, who were destined to prove themselves great among the greatest, and whose example of a free commonwealth and a free faith, is one of the
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS
THE MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS
“The names of those who came over first in the year 1620 and were by the blessing of God the first beginners and (in a sort) the foundation of all the Plantations and Colonies in New England.” *Died the first winter Poem read at the dedication of the National Monument to the Forefathers August 1, 1889. The Pilgrims held a charter issued to a member of a company of London merchants who had agreed to support their venture. They intended to make a settlement somewhat to the north of the already est
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE COMPACT
THE COMPACT
“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one of another, covenant an
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SIGNERS OF THE COMPACT
SIGNERS OF THE COMPACT
The “Compact” was succeeded, in law, if not in the respect of the colonists, by a regular patent taken out in the name of one of the Adventurers (the English investors) in 1621. This is now in Pilgrim Hall. It was superseded by another, also to the Adventurers; and finally, in 1629, after the colonists had bought out the English investors, by one to “Wm. Bradford and associates,”—that is, the freemen of the colony. By thus transferring the “home office” of the company from London to America, the
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MONUMENT OVER PLYMOUTH ROCK
THE MONUMENT OVER PLYMOUTH ROCK
For the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America built a beautiful portico of Doric columns over the Rock. This replaced the “monumental canopy,” whose corner stone had been laid Aug. 2, 1859, under the care of the Pilgrim Society. At the beginning of the Revolution, a large section, split from the main rock, had been carried by the patriots of Plymouth with great ceremony and enthusiasm to the Town Square, and there placed beneath a
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THOSE WHO DIED IN THE FIRST WINTER
THOSE WHO DIED IN THE FIRST WINTER
On the opposite side of the monument, facing the sea, is a list of the Pilgrims who died in the first winter, as follows: “of the hundred and four passengers these died in Plymouth during the first year: The following died before reaching Plymouth:...
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
STATUE OF MASSASOIT
STATUE OF MASSASOIT
Not far from the Sarcophagus stands a fine statue of the Indian Sachem Massasoit. It was modeled by the sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin, and given by the National Order of Red Men. It was unveiled September 5, 1921, and dedicated in October of same year. Massasoit, the grand sachem of the confederated tribes of Pokanoket, visited Plymouth on a fine spring day, April 1st, 1621. He was received with ceremony, a feast and gifts. A treaty of peace and friendship was drawn up and signed by him and the Pilgr
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MEMORIAL SEATS
MEMORIAL SEATS
Two stone seats have also been given as memorials, and placed on the hill, one near the statue of Massasoit, and the other under the great linden tree at the northern end. This was dedicated August 31st, 1921, and inscribed: Presented by The Pennsylvania Society of New England Women To commemorate the Tercentenary of the Landing of the Pilgrims 1620–1920 The inscription of the other seat reads: In Memory of The Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers whose heroic idealism established the basic principles of
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
COMMON HOUSE
COMMON HOUSE
This tablet is erected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to mark the site of the first house built by The Pilgrims In that house on the 21st of February 1621 (New Style) the right of popular suffrage was exercised and Myles Standish was chosen Captain by a majority vote. On or near this spot, April 1, 1621, the memorable treaty with Massasoit was made. Next to the Common House came that of Peter Brown, and third, that of John Goodman. Farther up the street, at its intersection by the path to
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Town Brook and The Brewster Gardens
Town Brook and The Brewster Gardens
“The meersteads and garden plottes of those which came first, layed out 1620.” To honor the memory of the courageous men and women who established their homes and made their gardens along the Town Brook in 1621–22, Mrs. William Forbes of Milton, with the co-operation of the Town, created in 1920–22, a beautiful little park on the site of the first meersteads. The land apportioned to Elder Brewster was half way up the hill, and his garden sloped down to the brook. A flowing spring in the hollow h
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE FORT
THE FORT
On the top of the hill, beyond the row of the first houses, and overlooking the town, the Pilgrims in 1622–23 built with great labor, a fort and stockade; Governor Bradford describes it: “A fort of good timbers, both strong and comely, which was a good defense, made with a flat roof, and battlements, and on which their ordinance was mounted, and where they kept constant watch, especially in time of danger.” In 1633, he further says—“Our ancient work of fortification, by continuance of time is de
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE GUNS
THE GUNS
On the side hill near the site of the fort now stand two ancient cannon; they were presented to Plymouth Oct. 4, 1921, by the British Government, through the good offices of the Honorable Artillery Company of London (chartered in 1537) and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (chartered in 1638). Col. Sidney Hedges, speaking at the presentation of the guns, said: “While we are not sure that they are the original pieces, which stood on the spot in 1621, they certainly are
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Pilgrim Progress
The Pilgrim Progress
More far reaching than the voice of the guns, was the message to the future from the small lower room of the fort, where the Pilgrims held their services of worship. Here their Elder, William Brewster, extolled freedom of thought and conscience; here were read letters received from their beloved pastor in Leyden, John Robinson; here they sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving; but still surrounded by danger, “they must constantly be on their guard, night and day.” “With arms they gathered in the
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Graves
The Graves
As the Pilgrims established themselves more firmly in the wilderness, there was no further need of secret burials on Cole’s Hill, and the hill about the fort was early used for the graves of the colony. Though there are many ancient graves on Burial Hill, most of the resting-places of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower are not to be found in Plymouth, but in the later settlements of Kingston, Duxbury, Marshfield, Eastham, Middleboro, and Dartmouth, whither they had followed their sons, or established
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Memorial to the Pilgrim Women
The Memorial to the Pilgrim Women
On the corner of North Street and the Water side, not far from Plymouth Rock, is a small park enclosed by hedges of box and privet; in the center against a background of lilac trees, a tall granite fountain supports on the front, a standing figure representing a Pilgrim woman. Capable, courageous and devoted, steadfast in her faith and to her duties though a life-long exile from the home of her birth, through dangers and privations she made possible the domestic comfort and the permanence of the
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The National Monument to the Forefathers
The National Monument to the Forefathers
Poem read at the dedication of the Monument to the Forefathers August 1, 1889. On the summit of a hill, back of the center of the town, stands the National Monument to the forefathers. Surmounting the pedestal, a figure of Faith, of heroic size, raises her arm with her forefinger pointing to heaven. Beneath her are seated Liberty, Law, Education, and Morality, representative of the Pilgrim ideals; below them are marble bas-reliefs of episodes in Pilgrim history. “The Departure from Delft Haven,”
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
COVENANT OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF PLYMOUTH
COVENANT OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF PLYMOUTH
“In ye name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in obedience to his holy will and devine ordinances, wee being by ye most wise and good providence of God brought together in this place, and desirous to unite ourselves with this congregation or church under the Lord Jesus Christ our head, that it may be in such sort as becometh all those whom he hath redeemed and sanctified to himself, wee doe hereby solemnly and religiously as in His most holy presence, avouch the Lord Jehovah ye only true God, to be
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE SUCCESSIVE MEETING HOUSES IN PLYMOUTH 1623–1899
THE SUCCESSIVE MEETING HOUSES IN PLYMOUTH 1623–1899
The lower room of the fort, which the Pilgrims toiled to build “in their time of wants and great weakness,” served as their place of worship, “and was fitted to that use.” In 1648 the first church was built, on land back of the garden of Gov. Bradford, fronting that part of the first street which is now the Town Square. “In 1683, it was decided to build a new structure, larger and handsomer than the last” at the head of the Town Square. The records state that “it had an unceiled Gothic roof, dia
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Pilgrim Citizen
The Pilgrim Citizen
From “The Pilgrim Spirit,” a pageant written by George P. Baker, produced at Plymouth during the Tercentenary Celebration of the Landing of the Pilgrims, 1921....
55 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Colony and Town Records
The Colony and Town Records
1620 1691 Long antedating the inscriptions of bronze and stone, are the early written records of the settlement, both of the Colony and of the Town. From them may be traced the affairs of the Plymouth community from its beginning. Nothing can give a more vivid description of the details of Pilgrim life, or the self-reliance with which the infant colony attacked the problems of an independent state, than the yellowed manuscripts in the handwriting of Gov. Bradford and Gov. Winslow. They record qu
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Pilgrim Society
The Pilgrim Society
“This society was established in 1820 by the descendants of the first settlers at Plymouth and by such others as are desirous of perpetuating their principles, and commemorating their virtues, ... The stated meetings of the society are held in Pilgrim Hall, ...” — James Thatcher , M.D. History of Plymouth. 1832. On the 9th of November, 1819, a meeting of a number of Plymouth gentlemen was held at the house of Mr. Joshua Thomas, “to take into consideration the expediency of forming a society to c
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Old Colony Club
The Old Colony Club
A bronze tablet affixed to a boulder on the lawn of the Old Colony Club declares: The Old Colony Club Organized January 13 1769 Founders This Club had the distinction of holding the first public observance of Forefathers’ Day, on Dec. 22, 1769. At one of the first meetings it was voted: “that Friday, December 22 be kept by this Club in commemoration of the landing of our worthy ancestors in this place.” The day was celebrated by the firing of a cannon, the display of a handsome flag upon the Clu
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society was founded in 1920 by a group of women whose aims are: “To preserve buildings and personal and household property of Antiquarian value; To acquire knowledge of their original use, and of the records and unwritten traditions of Plymouth; And so far as is possible by accurate representation of the life, surroundings, and pursuits of bygone generations, to give the Present a better understanding of the Past.” In pursuance of these aims, the Plymouth Antiquarian Soc
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Antiquarian House
The Antiquarian House
The Antiquarian House, which serves as headquarters for the Plymouth Antiquarian Society, was built in 1809 by Maj. William Hammatt, a successful merchant and ship owner. Soon after the house was built, the Embargo Act temporarily interrupted New England commerce, and Maj. Hammatt suffered financial reverses. The house was sold, and about 1830 was purchased by Mr. Thomas Hedge, whose family occupied it for nearly a hundred years. The architecture of the house has the characteristic grace and del
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Wm. Harlow House
The Wm. Harlow House
A 17th Century Home “ As one candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shown to many, yea, in some sort to our whole nation. ” The dim lights burning in the few houses first built by the Pilgrims on the banks of the Town Brook, increased to the brighter lights of a small town by the close of the 17th Century. (Population, 1620—102; 1700—1200.) Ships came from England bringing new colonists, who were always welcomed, though at times there was hardly food enough to spare from the
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Howland House
The Howland House
The old records of Plymouth pay tribute at his death to John Howland. He came as a lusty youth among the Pilgrims of the Mayflower, and after an arduous life spent for the Colony, was the last of that valiant company to die in Plymouth. His grave stone repeats the record of the town, “He was a godly man and an ancient professor in the ways of Christ.” John Howland and his wife, Elizabeth Tilley, had a large family of sons and daughters to inherit and transmit his good name, which after the passa
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Sparrow House
The Sparrow House
When the Plymouth Colony Trust undertook the rehabilitation of a number of old houses on Summer St., many of them were found to contain architectural features of unusual interest. Notable among them, is the Richard Sparrow house. This house is an excellent example of 17th century building, and clearly shows how it was enlarged, a few years after it was built, from the “one-room” to the “lean-to” or “salt-box” type. Its great fireplace, with rounded inner corners and 17th century oven, is remarka
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Authorities
Authorities
The history of the Plymouth Colony may be read in considerable detail in the words of its founders. The most important of these contemporary accounts is Governor Bradford’s history “Of Plymouth Plantation,” covering the years 1602–1647. This has been republished at various times, notably by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1898) and the Massachusetts Historical Society (1912). In his “Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers” (1847), Alexander Young has gathered together and republished a number of c
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter