![]() That's where they took their first step on American soil. Baker, the Plymouth historian, readily admitted to Cape Cod Magazine that Province-town is the Pilgrims' first landing place: "They settled here, but they spent a month first in Provincetown. "What made the Pilgrims so special is what they gave us in the way of democracy."Īs for correcting Americans' misinformation, Jeffory Morris, curator at the monument, says the strategy is to change perceptions "one visitor at a time."įor the Plymouth Rock myth continues. "Plymouth Rock is a myth," he says, "but we all love a good mythology." He finds the signing of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown harbor more significant than their landing place. According to the monument's current executive director, Chuck Turley, there has always been something of a rivalry between Plymouth and Provincetown. ![]() ![]() Imposing as the monument was, it did little to dislodge the Plymouth Rock legend. By 1910, the Pilgrim Monument, a 252-foot-high Italian Renaissance-style tower, rose above the town, dominating the landscape. In an elaborate ceremony, President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone on the top of High Pole Hill. By the time Provincetown tried to set the record straight, the myth was too entrenched to be shaken.Īs early as 1852, efforts were made to secure financing for the building of a monument to commemorate the Pilgrims' landing in Provincetown, but construction did not start until 1907. The spin doctors of the time seized on the memory of the gallant Pilgrim forefathers, and the perfect symbol for this stalwart band was the rock. "Plymouth Rock doesn't interest anyone much outside of town until the Revolution," Baker points out.īut the looming war with England brought an outpouring of patriotic fervor. The legend of the rock as the Pilgrim landing spot was perpetuated by the residents of Plymouth, but mostly among themselves. "Without Faunce, you don't have anything," says James Baker, a historian for Plimoth Plantation, the modern recreation of the Pilgrim village. As recorded in the "History of Plymouth" (1832), he pointed out the rock and told those assembled that he had been assured by his father that this was the very rock that "had received the footsteps of our fathers on their first arrival and which should be perpetuated to posterity." Hearing that a wharf was planned to be built over the rock in Plymouth harbor, Elder Thomas Faunce, a 95-year-old Mayflower descendant, asked to be carried in his chair down to the harbor. The few surviving records from this period do not mention it.Īn incident that occurred in 1741 seems to be the nucleus of the legend. Whether the large boulder known as Plymouth Rock played any part in that landing remains questionable. 16 the Mayflower delivered her passengers to their new home, which became the Plymouth colony. They spent their first night not on the mainland where Plymouth is now, but across its harbor on Clark's Island.Īn exploration of the area satisfied the men that this more sheltered land would support their colony, and on Dec. 6, a small boatload of men left the Mayflower and crossed the bay in search of a more hospitable place to settle. Ironically, the place that saw the first washday in America does not allow a commercial laundromat to operate within the town. Perhaps most important, there was insufficient fresh water - a problem Provincetown continues to grapple with. The sandy soil was not well suited to agriculture and the November cold on the unprotected spit of land was bitter. The site is still known as Corn Hill.īut it soon became apparent that the tip of the cape was not an ideal spot for a settlement. The Pilgrims took all the corn they could carry for use as seed - they paid for it a year later, with interest. We appreciate your cooperation.Later exploring parties located a small freshwater spring and ears of corn that had been buried by the local Indians. Many stones have a better chance of survival if they are not touched. As you walk through Burial Hill, please remember that this is historic and sacred ground, which deserves care and respec t. ![]() These early stone markers are valuable historic documents, and many are irrep laceable works of folk art. Today, the oldest known stone on Burial Hill is that of Edward Gray, 1681. Stone Markers were likely used starting in the mid-seventeenth century. The Earliest grave markers were of carved wood, and do not survive today. Here, Mayflower passengers are buried including Govenor William Bradford and William & Mary Brewster. The first English settlers (known as "The Pilgrims") built their first fort/meeting house here. The hill has been used for burials by Plmyouth residents since the 1620s. Burial Hill is on the National Register of Historic Places. ![]()
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