Plymouth, MA

With our time in Boston coming to an end, there are several things on our must see and do list that we have yet to get to. It is just like us to leave the sightseeing for the last few months of our stay here. Who knows if we will make it through everything that we want to do (we only have 2 weekends left in New England when we are both here!), but we will do our best. Yesterday, we had the chance to mark one of the must-see items off our to-do list. After church, we made our way south to Plymouth, MA.

Plymouth is the place where the Mayflower landed with the Pilgrims in 1620. In Plymouth, there is now a replica of the Mayflower, called the Mayflower II, as well as the famed Plymouth Rock. Upon our arrival in Plymouth, Chris and I questioned the significance of Plymouth Rock. Was this a rock upon which the Mayflower crashed? Was this the first piece of land the Pilgrims set foot on? We did not know and certainly could not recall from our history classes. After reading a little bit on Plymouth Rock, we discovered that it is the traditional disembarkation site of the Pilgrims from the Mayflower, however, the rock was never mentioned in any writings by those who were on the Mayflower. In fact, the rock was never mentioned until 121 years after the Pilgrims made their landing in Plymouth. You can read more about Plymouth Rock by clicking here.

See below for our pictures from the oldest town in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. We really enjoyed our afternoon there and are glad that we can now say that we have seen the Rock.

Mayflower II

Plymouth Rock

A picture of the Rock from the side, just so you can see how small it is. It is thought the the rock that the Pilgrims actually stepped out onto was approximately 3 times the size of the rock that you see here. Apparently it has been broken several times upon its movement to various locations and has also been broken to make doorsteps, jewelry, etc.

A pic of me in front of the Plymouth Harbour

Chris in front of the harbour

Statue of William Bradford, one of the first governors of Plymouth.

Chris and I in a nice little park in Plymouth

The Pilgrim Maiden

The Pilgrim Mother

Burial Hill, the sit of the first fort/meeting house of the Pilgrims.

Several of the passengers who were on the Mayflower are buried here, including William Bradford.

The Jenney Grist Mill, the site of America's first grist mill which was established by John Jenney in 1636.

The Howland House, the only house that remains standing where passengers on the Mayflower lived.