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GUIDE
_TO
Historical Plymouth_
Localities and Objects of Interest
_ILLUSTRATED_
[Illustration: Mayflower]
PLYMOUTH, MASS.
Copyrighted, and Published By
A. S. BURBANK
Copyright, 1920, by A. S. Burbank.
Printed by the Memorial Press.
Contents.
Beach Point 64
Burial Hill 49
Church of the First Parish 48
Church of the Pilgrimage 47
Clark’s Island 80
Cole’s Hill 39
Compact 82
Court House 25
Gov. Bradford’s House in 1621 46
Gurnet 37
Harbor 64
Industries 77
Landing of the Pilgrims 36
Leyden Street 41
Manomet Bluffs 60
Members of the Mayflower Company 83
Morton Park 67
National Monument Frontispiece and page 8
North Street 33
Old Fort and First Meeting House, 1621 59
Old Houses 70
Pilgrim Antiquities 16-25
Pilgrim Hall 13
Plymouth as a Summer Resort 79
Plymouth High School 73
Plymouth in 1627 45
Plymouth Rock 31
Post Office 44
Prison 30
Public Library 74
Registry Building 27
The Town 73
Town Brook 69
Town Square 46
Voyage of the Mayflower Shallop 65
Watch Tower 61
Watson’s Hill 61
[Illustration: NATIONAL MONUMENT TO THE FOREFATHERS.]
Historic Plymouth
“The Pilgrim Fathers—where are they?
The waves that brought them o’er
Still roll in the bay, and throw their spray,
As they break along the shore.”
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
The introduction of visitors to Plymouth as they come by rail, is at
Seaside, a station in the extreme north part of the town, at the
dividing line between Kingston and Plymouth. As the cars slow up
passengers see the beautiful panorama of Plymouth Harbor spread out
before their eyes. At the near left, across the bay appears Captain’s
Hill, so called from its being the home of Capt. Myles Standish, and on
its crest is a monument in honor of the Pilgrim warrior, surmounted by
his statue fourteen feet in height. Farther along is seen Rouse’s
Hummock, the American terminus of the French Atlantic cable. The next
prominent object is Clark’s Island, where the Pilgrims spent their first
Sabbath in Plymouth. Next to this is the headland of Saquish, and beyond
is the Garnet with its twin lighthouses. Opposite these the bold bluff
of Manomet thrusts itself out into the bay, while nearer inland the
long, thin ribbon of Plymouth Beach runs across the harbor, like an
artificial breakwater, to arrest the waves of the ocean.
[Illustration: PLYMOUTH ROCK.]
[Illustration: STANDISH HOUSE, BUILT BY SON OF MYLES STANDISH, 1666.
CAPTAIN’S HILL, DUXBURY.]
Few scenes can surpass this in loveliness, if the visitor is fortunate
enough to arrive when the tide is in. Although by the configuration of
the land Plymouth Harbor seems to have been designed for a perfect haven
against every wind that blows, unfortunately it is dependent upon a full
sea for depth enough of water to float vessels of large draft to the
wharves. With the assistance of the State of Massachusetts a channel 150
feet wide with eighteen feet depth at mean low water, was opened in 1913
from Beach Point to the fine new stone pier of the Plymouth Cordage Co.,
and by it that great industrial plant now brings its fibre, for
manufacture, direct from Mexico to its mills in steamships of 3500 tons
measurement. In 1876 the United States Government dug a small channel
from Broad channel to the wharves, where none had existed. In 1914-15
the Government and State co-operated in improving the old “Mayflower
channel,” from deep water at Beach Point along the inside of the Beach
and up Broad channel to the town wharves, so that for the entire
distance there is a width of 200 feet and depth of 18 feet at mean low
water. This allows steamers and light draft vessels to land at any time
of tide, while at high water barges and heavy freight carriers drawing
25 feet or more can have easy access to the piers. These harbor
improvements accommodate any vessels that can pass through the Cape Cod
Canal which opens into the bay 16 miles below Plymouth and are of great
advantage to the Pilgrim port. Other important changes of the water
front and harbor may develop previous to the tercentenary celebration of
“the Landing,” to take place in 1920-21, plans and details for which are
in charge of a special State Commission.
Immediately upon leaving the station of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford Railroad, on arrival in Plymouth, and while traversing Old
Colony park to Court street, the main street of the town, the Samoset
House is in full view in the front. Looking towards the Samoset House on
the way through the park the first street on its right leading from
Court street is Cushman street; and the walk continued up Cushman street
and little northward along Allerton street, will shortly bring the
visitor to the National Monument to the Forefathers.
The National Monument to the Forefathers
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
The corner stone of the National Monument was laid Aug. 2, 1859, and the
work entrusted to Hammatt Billings who drew the design for the Monument
in all its details. The main pedestal was put in position in 1876, and
in the following summer the statue of Faith was erected. The monument
was completed in October, 1888, and dedicated with appropriate
ceremonies August 1, 1889. It is built entirely of granite, the statues
all coming from the quarries of the Hallowell Granite Company of Maine.
(See frontispiece.)
The idea of building the monument to the memory of the Pilgrim Fathers
was early entertained in the town, and was formed into a definite object
by the incorporation of the Pilgrim Society in January, 1820; which
object was kept steadily in view and prosecuted to successful
conclusion.
The plan of the principal pedestal is octagonal, with four small and
four large faces; from the small faces project four buttresses or wing
pedestals. On the main pedestal stands the figure of Faith. One foot
rests upon Forefathers’ Rock; in her left hand she holds a Bible; with
the right uplifted she points to heaven. Looking downward, as to those
she is addressing, she seems to call to them to trust in a higher power.
[Illustration: THE FIRST TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.
Alto Relief on National Monument.]
[Illustration: MORALITY.]
On each of the four buttresses or wing pedestals is a seated figure;
they are emblematic of the principles upon which the Pilgrims proposed
to found their commonwealth. The first is Morality, holding the
Decalogue in her left, and the scroll of Revelation in her right hand;
her look is upward toward the impersonation of the Spirit of Religion
above; in a niche, on one side of her throne, is a prophet, and in the
other, one of the Evangelists. The second of these figures is Law: on
one side Justice; on the other Mercy. The third is Education: on one
side Wisdom, ripe with years; on the other Youth, led by Experience. The
fourth figure is Freedom: on one side Peace rests under its Protection;
on the other Tyranny is overthrown by its powers. Below these seated
figures are marble alto-reliefs, representing scenes from the history of
the Pilgrims:—the Departure from Delft Haven; the first Treaty with the
Indians; Signing of the Social Compact; and the Landing at Plymouth. On
each of the four faces of the main pedestal is a large panel for
records. That in front contains the general inscription of the monument,
viz., “National Monument to the Forefathers. Erected by a grateful
people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices and sufferings for the
cause of civil and religious liberty.” The right and left panel contain
the names of those who came over in the “Mayflower.” The rear panel is
plain, to have an inscription at some future day.
[Illustration: LAW.]
The total height of the Monument is eighty-one feet, from the ground to
the top of the head of the statue of Faith. The following are some of
the dimensions of this great piece of work, said, on good authority, to
be the largest and finest piece of granite statuary in the world: the
height of the base is forty-five feet; height of statue, thirty-six
feet. The outstretched arm measures from shoulder to elbow, ten feet one
and one-half inches; from elbow to the tip of finger, nine feet nine
inches; total length of arm, nineteen feet ten and one-half inches. The
head measures around the forehead thirteen feet seven inches. The points
of the star, in the wreath around the head are just one foot across. The
arm, just below the short sleeve, measures six feet ten inches around;
below the elbow, six feet two inches. The wrist is four feet around. The
length of the finger pointing upwards is two feet one inch, and is one
foot eight and one-half inches around. The thumb measures one foot eight
and one-half inches around. The circumference of the neck is nine feet
two inches and the nose is one foot four inches long. From centre to
centre of the eyes is one foot six inches. The figure is two hundred and
sixteen times life size and its weight one hundred and eighty tons. A
bolt of lightning ran down the arm and figure Aug. 23, 1912, splitting
and displacing two blocks of the central section. They were restored to
position, without taking down the monument, by Mr. George W. Bradford, a
Plymouth contractor, a feat which reflected much credit upon his
engineering skill.
The statue of Faith was the gift of the late Oliver Ames, a native of
Plymouth, and its cost was $31,300. The total cost of the Monument was
$150,000, contributed by more than 11,000 people of the United States
and other countries.
Pilgrim Hall
[Illustration: PILGRIM HALL, BUILT IN 1824.]
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
Returning to Court street (the main street) from the Monument grounds,
and passing the head of Old Colony park, we soon see on our left a
building with a Doric portico, standing a little way from the street.
This is Pilgrim Hall, erected in 1824 by the Pilgrim Society as a
monumental hall to the memory of the Pilgrims. In 1880, without taking
down the walls, it was re-roofed and refloored with steel beams and
terra cotta blocks at a cost of over $15,000 by Joseph Henry Stickney,
Esq., a wealthy Baltimore merchant of Boston nativity, who on a casual
visit to Plymouth became so impressed of preserving with the greatest
care the interesting relics of the Pilgrims there deposited, that he
most liberally made this large expenditure to secure these precious
memorials from loss by fire. At the same time he provided for better
classification and exhibition of the articles, those immediately
connected with the Pilgrims being deposited, mostly in glass cases, in
the main hall, while an interesting museum of antique curiosities was
arranged in the room below. Exteriorly, marked improvement was made by
raising the Doric porch to the height of the main building, and
repainting and sanding the whole front in imitation of stone. Quite a
change was made at the same time in the front area by the removal back
to the Landing-place of the portion of Plymouth Rock, which for
forty-six years had here been a prominent object.
The hall is kept open daily (including Sundays in the summer season), at
regular hours, for the accommodation of visitors, a fee of twenty-five
cents being charged. These fees are the only income of the Pilgrim
Society, the fund so accumulated being devoted to the care of the
Pilgrim relics, the monuments, grounds, and historic points of the
Pilgrim locality in Plymouth.
To the improvements made by Mr. Stickney, very important and extensive
ones were carried out by the Society in the periods from February to May
1911, and from December 1911 to March 1912, the hall being closed to the
public during the work. Everything of wood, from the basement to the
roof was removed from the ante-rooms, and also from the main hall and
the one beneath. With steel beams, terra cotta blocks, cement and
marble, thorough work was done in fireproofing the whole structure, so
that the Doric entrance portico, which is separated from the building by
a thick brick wall, now remains as the only combustible part. The cost
of these radical improvements, which seem to sufficiently insure the
protection of the priceless collection of Pilgrim relics, was about
$15,000, paid from the visitors fee fund. It is in contemplation, and
plans have been prepared, for changing the Doric portico from wood to
granite, with monolithic columns. About $20,000 will be needed for this
much desired object, which will make Pilgrim Hall, in its entirety, a
complete and harmonious memorial of the Forefathers; but this laudable
project will have to await the slow accumulation of an annual income
from visitors fees, or the possible generous gift of a descendant or
admirer of our Pilgrim ancestors.
The interior, with marble floors and wainscots, and walls freshly
colored in neutral tints which set off the pictures to much advantage,
now presents a very neat and attractive appearance.
[Illustration: LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS.]
In the marble vestibule hangs a large picture of the “Landing,” done in
distemper, which was presented to the Society by Robert G. Shaw of
Boston. At the right is the curator’s room, on the walls of which hang a
portrait of King James I., together with a number of maps and local
views of Plymouth, illustrative of changes which have taken place. Over
the entrance to the main hall is a large gilded copy of the seal of the
Colony, reproduced from the “Book of Laws,” printed in 1685. The
original seal was adopted probably in 1625. It was taken away during the
administration of the infamous Governor Andros, and never recovered, as
far as is known. This copy is supposed to have been the gift of Samuel
Nicholson, of the Boston Common Council, a native of Plymouth. At the
left of the entrance is the stairway to the lower hall, and the sanitary
conveniences of the building.
The main hall is forty-six by thirty-nine feet, with walls twenty-two
feet high, and is lighted entirely from the roof. At the east end is the
large picture of the “Landing,” thirteen by sixteen feet, painted by
Henry Sargent, of Boston, an amateur artist, and presented by him to the
Society in 1834. Its estimated value was $3,000, and the massive frame
cost about $400. At the left is a portrait of the venerable Dr. James
Thacher, the first secretary of the Pilgrim Society. He was the author
of Thacher’s Military Journal and a History of Plymouth, which has been
considered one of the best ever published. The picture upon the right is
a fine painting and most excellent likeness of the gentleman who in 1880
so disinterestedly and generously remodeled and beautified Pilgrim
Hall,—Joseph Henry Stickney, Esq., of Baltimore. The portrait was
painted by D. G. Pope, a Baltimore artist, and in subject and execution
is worthy of its place in this Pilgrim temple. Beneath the picture the
Society has placed a bronze memorial tablet in grateful remembrance of
Mr. Stickney’s benefactions.
In the middle of the south wall is hung the large copy of Weir’s
Embarkation from Delft Haven, from the large painting in the rotunda of
the Capitol at Washington, done for the Society by Edgar Parker. It is
flanked by several large portraits designated in the catalogue,
including one of Hon. Daniel Webster.
In the centre of the west side hangs the noble gift of ex-Gov. Alexander
H. Rice, of Massachusetts, Charles Lucy’s large painting of the
Departure from Delft Haven. It is of great value, and at a prize
exhibition in England won the first premium of a thousand guineas. It is
altogether different in color and tone from either of the others, and
will bear close sturdy. On its right and left are portraits of
Washington and Edward Everett, with pictures of the house at
Austerfield, England, where Governor Bradford was born, and the only
copy extant of the earliest map of New England territory, made by
William Hack about 1663.
On the north wall at the left of the entrance to the library the fine
historical painting of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by W. F. Halsall
occupies a prominent position, and grouped around it are the portraits
of the Winslow family. These consist of Edward Winslow, of the Mayflower
company who was Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633-1636 and 1644. This
portrait, and that of Josiah Winslow, who was born in Plymouth in 1628,
son of Governor Edward, and who became the first native governor of the
Colony 1673 to 1680, were probably painted in London by Robert Walker in
1651, the first is therefore regarded as undoubtedly a life-like
portrait of a Mayflower Pilgrim. Others of the group are Penelope, (wife
of Gov. Josiah Winslow) and Gen. John Winslow, great grandson of Gov.
Edward Winslow. The general is depicted in the scarlet uniform of the
British Army. He was second in command in the expedition which removed
the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755. The house in which he lived,
built in 1730, is still standing in Plymouth, on the corner of Main and
North streets. It was also the home of James Warren, president of the
Provincial Congress.
At the right of the library entrance hangs the original of Robert W.
Weir’s Embarkation of the Pilgrims from Delft Haven, purchased by the
Society in 1914. From this study, Weir produced the larger painting for
the Capitol rotunda at Washington. Above it is an engraving of the
Sailing of the Mayflower, from Cope’s original painting, which hangs in
the House of Lords in London. There are also engravings of the Signing
of the Compact, and the Landing by different artists, and a colored
lithograph by Allebe of a picture representing the First Religious
service held by the Pilgrims, painted in 1859 by Schwarz of Amsterdam.
The vessel bringing the painting to the United States was burned at sea
by a Confederate privateer during the Civil War. Over the library door
is The Royal Arms, which before the Revolution hung over the judges
bench in the Plymouth Colonial Court House, now our old Town House, and
was carried to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, by Captain Gideon White, a royal
refugee of those times.
Across the head of the hall, under the Sargent picture, are important
historical articles, as the Patent of Plymouth Colony, the chairs of
Elder Brewster and Gov. Carver, which were brought by them in the
Mayflower, the Peregrine White cradle and the Fuller cradle, a chest
which belonged to Myles Standish, a carved pew back from the ancient
parish church at Scrooby, a chair once owned by Gov. Winslow, and the
keystone from an arch in Scrooby Manor. Just inside the door from the
curator’s office is a small steel safe containing Gov. William
Bradford’s bible, printed at Geneva in 1592. During visiting hours the
sacred volume may be seen.
Arranged about the hall on handsome steel tables are exhibition cases of
the finest plate glass in America, and in these are displayed and
numbered conveniently for recognition by catalogue, very many authentic
relics and personal belongings of the Pilgrims and their households. The
first at the right on entering contains articles of the White family,
among them a cabinet brought in the Mayflower by William White, father
of Peregrine, a cane and a candlestick, which he once owned, also a bond
written and signed by Peregrine White, who was born on the Mayflower in
Cape Cod harbor in 1620, and died in Marshfield, 1704. Next is the Alden
case and in it is seen John Alden’s bible dated 1661, a halberd found in
a house he once occupied in Duxbury, a deed signed by this fond lover of
Priscilla, a christening bowl which belonged to Elder William Brewster,
etc. The Standish case is next, and most interesting, for the reason
that there is deposited the famous Damascus sword of the military
Chieftain of the Pilgrims, together with a large pewter platter and iron
pot which he brought in the Mayflower. There are fragments of a quilt
which belonged to Rose, his wife, and a specimen of embroidery or
“sampler” worked by Lorea, his daughter in 1653, with this verse:
[Illustration: SWORD, POT AND PLATTER OF MYLES STANDISH.]
Lorea Standish is my name,
Lord, guide my hart that I may doe Thy will:
Also fill my hands with such convenient skill
As will conduce to virtu void of shame,
And I will give the glory to thy name.
The baby cap and bib worked for her little daughter Lorea by Barbara
Standish has lately been added to the collection. The sword of Myles
Standish is one of the most valuable articles in Pilgrim Hall. General
Grant on his visit to Plymouth, October 14, 1880, was much interested in
this ancient weapon, and handled it with evident satisfaction. The
Arabic inscriptions on the blade have always been a puzzle, and,
notwithstanding many attempts, remained undeciphered until the visit to
the town, June 7, 1881, of Prof. James Rosedale, of Jerusalem, with a
troupe of Arabs from Palestine. Mr. Rosedale being an excellent
linguist, was shown the sword, and pronounced the inscriptions to be of
different dates; one of them in Cufic, very old, and the other in
mediæval Arabic of a later period, but still very ancient. To the last
he readily gave the following translation:—
“_With peace God ruled His slaves (creatures) and with the judgment of
His arm He troubled the mighty of the wicked._”
He had no doubt that the weapon dated back two or three centuries before
the Christian era, and might be much older. It was captured from the
Persians at Jerusalem in 637 by the Saracens, and it is probable that
this famous blade came down to Capt. Standish from the Crusaders, and
possessed an interesting history in his day.
The next case contains numerous valuable books and literary works of
ancient date, the most precious being a copy of John Eliot’s Indian
bible 1685, of which but four copies are now known to be extant. A Dutch
bible and a “Breeches” bible 1599, an Indian vocabulary by Josiah
Cotton, New England’s Memorial by Nathaniel Morton, and the original
records of the Old Colony Club from 1769 to 1773, are also interesting.
The Winslow Case at the right of the Library entrance displays many
belongings of that illustrious family, notably, a part of a chest, a
mortar and pewter plate, brought by Edward Winslow in the Mayflower, a
gold ring and ancient trencher which belonged to Governor Edward
Winslow, General John Winslow’s sword, a dressing case once owned by
Penelope, wife of Governor Josiah Winslow, and bead purse wrought by
that gentle lady, a pair of stiff little shoes worn by Governor Josiah
Winslow when an infant, a slipper and cape once owned by Mrs. Susannah
White, widow of William White, and second wife of Governor Edward
Winslow, and other articles which the catalogues will identify.
[Illustration: WINSLOW RELICS, PILGRIM HALL.]
The case at the left of the Library contains many papers and documents
of much interest, but of especial note are swords of Gov. John Carver,
Elder William Brewster and Capt. Myles Standish, loaned by the
Massachusetts Historical Society. A novel reminder of the days of
slavery in Massachusetts is a bill of sale of a negro boy in Plymouth in
1753.
The next case has valuable autographs, note books, and a service of
ancient silver tankards and goblets not now in use, but belonging to the
First Church of Christ in Plymouth. There are also the first volume of
the ancient records of the First Church in Plymouth, and the works of
Pastor John Robinson, of Leyden.
The north ante-room is worthy attention of visitors, and contains, with
other things, an old sofa formerly owned by Gov. Hancock, upon which he
probably sat and plotted treason with Samuel Adams against the English
crown. There are pictures of Plymouth, England, and other places in that
country, of Pilgrim interest, together with various commissions,
etchings, views, etc; and a case containing seven swords of notable
personages, which are described in the catalogues.
A fire-proof annex for the valuable library of the Pilgrim Society was
built on the northerly side of the hall in 1904, and on the steel
shelves behind substantial metal lattices, found necessary to protect
the books from persons of predatory inclinations, some 3000 volumes are
arranged in handsome cabinets. Some of these books are very rare indeed,
and if lost or destroyed could not be replaced. The oldest volume bears
the imprint 1559.
Above the bookcases are portraits; among them those of Hon. Joshua
Thomas, the first president of the Pilgrim Society; Hon. John Davis,
editor of Morton’s New England Memorial, and former president of the
Massachusetts Historical Society; and Ephraim Spooner, who was for
thirty-four years deacon of the First Church, in Plymouth, and a very
prominent citizen of the town. He was chairman of the Selectmen through
the Revolutionary War, in which capacity he rendered the country
efficient service, and was likewise for fifty-one years town clerk of
Plymouth. A very quaint painting is the portrait of Elizabeth Wensley,
hanging over the fireplace. She was daughter of William Paddy, and was
born in Plymouth 1641. Her daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Dr. Isaac
Winslow, whose portrait appears in the Winslow group in the main hall.
The great centre table in the library was owned by Gov. Edward Winslow,
and stood in the Council Chamber when he governed the Colony. On top of
one of the book cases is a model of a ship of the “Mayflower” period,
illustrative of the naval architecture and rig of her time.
One of the cases at the foot of the Hall between the ante-rooms holds
the gun barrel with which King Philip was killed, also the original
manuscript of Mrs. Felicia Hemans’ celebrated ode, “The breaking waves
dashed high,” and William Cullen Bryant’s poem, “Wild was the day, the
wintry sea,” both presented by the late James T. Fields of Boston. A
piece of a mulberry tree, planted in the garden of the Manor house at
Scrooby by Cardinal Wolsey, and the trowel used in laying the corner
stone of the National Monument to the Pilgrims, August 2, 1859, are seen
in this case among other articles. In the other there is a book given to
Gov. Bradford by Pastor John Robinson, brought over in the “Mayflower”
by Bradford and afterwards given by him to the church. A book printed by
Elder Brewster and a copy of Seneca’s works owned by Brewster likewise
find place in this case, together with a copy of the first edition of
“Mourt’s Relation,” written in Plymouth in 1621 and published in London
in 1622.
A special case at the head of the Hall contains the oldest state
document in New England, and probably in the United States. This is the
first patent granted to the Plymouth Colonists by the Northern Virginia
Company. A patent was granted by the Virginia Company in the name of
John Wincob, but never used. About the time of the departure of the
Forefathers from England for this country a new company was created by a
royal charter, within the limits of which Plymouth was included, and
this patent dated June 1, 1621 was granted to John Pierce by the
Northern Virginia Company and sent over in the “Fortune,” arriving here
in November of that year. This patent was found in the land office in
Boston, among a mass of old papers, by William Smith, Esq., one of the
land committee. The Hon. John Davis, then editing a new edition of
Morton’s New England Memorials, obtained it for his use in that book,
and from him it came into the possession of the late Nathaniel Morton
Davis, Esq., in whose family it remained until deposited in the hall by
Mrs. William H. Whitman. It bears the seals and signatures of the Duke
of Lenox, the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl of Warwick, Lord Sheffield,
and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, with the exception that the seal of Hamilton
is missing. A sixth signature, probably that of John Peirce, the party
of the second part, is broken out of the parchment, leaving but a trace
of the letter J. The seal to this signature is also torn away.
From the curator’s office a flight of stairs conducts to the basement,
where all desired conveniences for visitors will be found. In the lower
hall is an interesting museum of articles which have been separated from
the Pilgrim collection, and as pertaining to ancient days in many
instances or as curiosities will well repay examination. Among them is
the frame of the “Sparrowhawk,” wrecked on Cape Cod, at Orleans, in
1626, her company finding refuge and assistance at Plymouth. Her history
is remarkable, as being the first known vessel stranded on the Cape,
which since that time has been the grave yard of fully 2,000 sea-going
craft, with a loss of hundreds of lives. A large placard attached to the
old wreck gives the story. To see these remains of a vessel as old as
the Mayflower, though much smaller, is very suggestive of the perils of
an ocean passage in the days of the Pilgrims.
The bones of the Indian Chief Iyanough are preserved in a special case
in the lower hall, together with a large brass kettle and other
implements found with the skeleton which was discovered at Hyannis in
Barnstable in May, 1861.
The Court House
“Though justice be thy plea, consider this,—
That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation.”
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
At our right hand, soon after leaving Pilgrim Hall, we see a large
building with a handsome brick facade, standing a little back from the
street, and fronted by a small park. This is the County Court House,
erected in 1820, and remodeled in 1857. It is one of the finest
buildings of the kind in the State, and the judges of the different
courts give it precedence in point of beauty, convenience, etc., over
all they visit. It has two entrances. The northerly one leads to a
marble corridor, from which is the stairway to the large court room
above, admittance to witness rooms and the Third District Court. The
southerly entrance is to a corridor paved with Vermont marble, and from
which leads a flight of stairs for the court, the bar, officers and
jurymen, main court room, district attorney’s office, and grand jury
room. On the left, below, is the room of the Clerk of Courts, with the
room of the County Treasurer opposite; beyond are rooms for various uses
together with that of the County Commissioners, and the Law Library. The
Library opens from the Commissioner’s room, and also connects by a
stairway with the upper corridor.
[Illustration: PRISCILLA.]
The New Registry Building
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
Opposite the Court House, on Russell street, in 1904, the County erected
a very fine and conveniently appointed fireproof building for the
Probate Court and Registry of Deeds. The latter is on the lower floor,
with a large hall for the records and necessary desks and tables to
facilitate the examination of the books. There are also commodious rooms
for the Register and his assistants and the corps of recorders.
[Illustration: THE NEW REGISTRY BUILDING.]
In the Registry of Deeds are the earliest records of Plymouth Colony, in
the handwriting of the men who are now held in reverence the world over
for their courage in braving the perils of an unknown sea and an equally
unknown shore, to face the dangers of savage men and savage beasts, in
their constancy to what they believed to be their duty, and for planting
on this spot the great principles of a government by the people,—
“A church without a bishop,
A state without a king.”
Here is their writing, some of it quaint and crabbed, some fair and
legible. Here, on these very pages, rested the hands fresh from handling
the sword and the musket or the peaceful implements of husbandry, of
Bradford and Brewster and Standish and others of that heroic band. Here
is the original laying-out of the first street,—Leyden street. Here is
the plan of the plots of ground first assigned for yearly use, which
they called, in the tinge of the Dutch tongue they had acquired in their
long residence in Holland, “meersteads.” Here are the simple and yet
wise rules—laws they can hardly be called—laid down for the government
of the infant colony.
Here is the order establishing jury trial in Governor Bradford’s
writing, the order for the first custom laws, the division of cattle
into lots, one cow being divided into thirteen lots. It was four years
after the Landing before any domestic cattle were brought over, and in
order to equalize them they were divided into lots, each family having
one. It must have been a pretty nice affair to divide the milk of one
cow among thirteen parties, to satisfy all.
Here also is the second patent to the company from the Earl of Warwick,
granted in 1629, with its great wax seal engraved for the purpose, and
the original box in which it came from England. Here are signatures,
also, of nearly as much interest as those of the Pilgrims
themselves,—the marks of the original proprietors of all these broad
fields and forests, whose names are represented by signs of bows and
tortoises, of reptiles and animals.
Here are also ancient deeds written in the Indian language, as put in
form by Eliot and Mayo. The record clerk must have had his patience
severely taxed when they were copied.
The Registry of Probate is on the second floor, where with the several
offices there is a beautiful court room for the Probate sessions. The
filing and registry room is a model for convenience in safe keeping and
reference to papers concerning estates.
Opposite Court Square is the Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, a fine
building erected in 1885-86, which is an ornamental and prominent
feature of the locality.
The building at the right of the church is the Old Colony Club,
instituted in 1769. Next beyond is Russell Building, in which is located
the Pilgrim Bookstore, where will be found a large and varied collection
of souvenirs, views of interesting localities, books of Pilgrim story
and history, post cards and mementos of a visit to “Pilgrim Land.”
[Illustration: PILGRIM MEERSTEADS.]
The Prison
“I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs—
A palace and a prison on each hand.”
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
In the rear of the Court House stands the former County Prison, a
substantial brick building, with granite trimmings. It is now used for
temporary detention of prisoners at trial, and by agreement with the
Commissioners the town of Plymouth leases a portion of the building for
a police station.
[Illustration: COUNTY PRISON.]
In May, 1908, the County purchased a large farm at the south part of the
town, and erected suitable buildings of cement concrete, and prisoners
convicted of minor offences are there kept at work with the design of
making the penal institution self-supporting, as well as contributing to
the health and general welfare of offenders detained for short terms.
The new prison is light, commodious and airy, and has 140 cells for men,
and 12 for women. The number of prisoners averages about 120, about half
of them being “trusties,” who perform the farm labor cheerfully, with
but little oversight other than that necessary for direction. The
prisoners were transferred from the old jail in the middle of July,
1911. Sheriff Earl P. Blake rules humanely but firmly, and is as popular
with his criminal household as he is throughout the county. This
rational employment of prison labor for self support, is working
splendidly, and the farm, the first of the kind in this country to be
established on such a basis, is visited with much interest by officials
connected with the criminal institutions of this and other states for
the purpose of learning the methods of administration.
The Rock
“A rock in the wilderness welcomed our sires
From bondage far over the dark rolling sea;
On that holy altar they kindled the fires,
Jehovah, which glow in our bosoms for thee.”
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
Continuing our way along Court Street a little farther, we come to North
Street, at which point the name of the main thoroughfare changes to Main
Street, the business section of the town. Turning down North Street,
leading to the water, in a little distance we come to the brow of the
hill. On the left, Winslow Street winds northward, and on it we see an
old mansion, partially hidden by two noble old linden trees. This house
was built by Edward Winslow, brother to Gen. John Winslow in 1754. He
had the frame got out in England and brought over for this purpose. The
trees in front were planted by his daughter about 1760. Additions were
made to the house in 1898, which is now owned and occupied by Mrs. C. L.
Willoughby.
[Illustration: WINSLOW HOUSE, BUILT IN 1734.]
Descending the hill to the harbor front at our right a short distance we
see a beautiful and artistic structure of granite in the shape of a
canopy, supported on four columns, and under this is the Rock, now
world-famous. (At this writing in 1919, the comprehensive plans of the
Tercentenary Commission contemplate displacing commercial structures and
improving the harbor front in the vicinage of the Rock.) The upper
portion of the renowned boulder, nearly all of that which is now in
sight, was for one hundred and six years separated from the original
Rock, and during this long period occupied localities remote from the
Landing-place. In 1774, during the series of events leading to the
Revolution, an attempt to raise the Rock for transportation to Town
Square disclosed the fact that the upper portion had become separated
from the lower, probably through action of frost. It was taken to the
Square where it was deposited at the foot of a liberty pole from which
waved a flag bearing the motto, “Liberty or death.”
[Illustration: NORTH STREET.]
[Illustration: CANOPY OVER PLYMOUTH ROCK—COLE’S HILL.]
It remained there until 1834, when at a celebration of the Fourth of
July it was carried in procession to Pilgrim Hall, deposited in the
front area, and inclosed by an iron fence. Here the separated part of
the Rock remained forty-six years, its incongruous position away from
the water not being understood by visitors without lengthy explanation.
Mr. Stickney, the gentleman by whose liberality the alterations in
Pilgrim Hall were being made in the summer of 1880, recognized the
impropriety of this condition, and proposed reuniting the parts at the
original Landing-place. The Pilgrim Society readily acceded to this
proposition, and accordingly on Monday, Sept. 27, 1880, without
ceremony, this part of the Rock was placed beneath the Monumental Canopy
at the waterside, the reunited pieces, after a separation of one hundred
and six years, probably now presenting much the same appearance as when
the Pilgrim shallop grazed its side. As to the identity of this Rock,
and the certainty of its being the very one consecrated by the first
touch of Pilgrim feet on this shore, there is not the slightest loophole
for a doubt. Ancient records, now accessible, refer to it as an object
of prominence on the shore, before the building of the wharf about it in
the year 1741. Thomas Faunce, the elder of the church, who was born in
1647 and died in 1746, at the age of 99, was the son of John Faunce, who
came over in the “Ann” in 1623. At the age of ninety-five years hearing
that the Rock, which from youth he had venerated was to be disturbed, he
visited the locality, related the history of the Rock as told him by his
father and contemporary Pilgrims, and in the presence of many witnesses
declared it to be that upon which the Forefathers landed in 1620. Thus
it has been pointed out and identified from one generation to another,
and from the days of the first comers to the present time. Not a shadow
of distrust rests upon it as being the identical spot where the first
landing was effected on the shore of Plymouth.
About a century and three-fourths have elapsed since Elder Faunce gave
his personal testimony, and the lives of two or three elderly people
cover that period, so the evidence is of positive rather than
traditional character.
The Rock was originally a solid boulder of about seven tons, and
undoubtedly a glacial deposit. It is greenish syenite, very hard, and
bears high polish when its fragments are worked for various purposes.
The Landing
[Illustration: The landing]
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
Let us picture to ourselves the scene on that Monday morning, when,
after the rest on Clark’s Island they came in their shallop to inspect
the new country that they had providentially found. The wharves and
buildings and every trace of civilization vanish. All is wild and
unknown. Across the harbor comes the boat and every eye anxiously and
keenly scanning the strange shore to discover the presence of human
beings, who will be sure to be enemies. They coast along the shore by
cliff and lowland, hand on weapon, every sense alert for the expected
warwhoop and attack, a steep and sandy cliff, (Cole’s Hill) the base of
which is washed by the water meets their eyes; at its foot a great
boulder, brought from some far-away coast by a glacier, in some
long-gone age. Oval in form, with a flat top, it seems the very place to
bring the great clumsy boat up to, as from its crest they can spring to
the shore, dry-shod, a matter which, after their previous wading in the
ice-cold water at the Cape, is of no small moment. The shallop is
steered to its side; the company steps upon the Rock, and the Landing of
the Forefathers, now so reverently commemorated, is completed. Look
along the shore at this day, north or south, and you may see cliffs as
Cole’s Hill was then, with the mouth of Town Brook near by the Rock,
which later made a safe little harbor for their boats in the rear of the
dwellings which they erected on the south side of Leyden Street.
Divested of romance thrown around it by time, it should be remembered
that the “Landing,” Dec. 21, 1620, was that of the exploring party which
had coasted around the bay, the “Mayflower” then being in Cape Cod
Harbor.
[Illustration: THE GURNET.]
This party was made up of “ten of their principal men,” according to
Bradford, whose names, as given in “Mourt’s Relation,” were Captain
Standish, Governor Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John
Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, from Leyden; with Richard Warren,
Stephen Hopkins and Edward Dotey from London, and also two of the
Pilgrim’s seamen, John Allerton and Thomas English. In addition to
these, Captain Jones of the “Mayflower” sent three of his seamen, with
his two mates and pilots named Clarke and Coppin. The master gunner of
the ship by importunity also got leave to accompany them. Thus the
shallop contained eighteen men, twelve of the “Mayflower” company and
six of Jones’ men.
According to “Mourt’s Relation,” the exploring party, having landed from
the Rock, “marched also into the land and found divers cornfields and
little running brooks, a place very good for situation. So we returned
to our Ship again with good news to the rest of the people, which did
much comfort their hearts.”
The “Mayflower” weighs her anchor, Dec. 26, 1620, and spreading sail
moves across the bay. Feeling carefully their way, they pass the Gurnet
and navigate along the channel inside the beach, until in the wide bend
towards the town just above the present Beach wharf, as is believed by
those who have studied the situation, the anchor is dropped, not to be
again disturbed until the following spring. But the location is not yet
settled. Some, with the alarm of the recent encounters vividly impressed
upon them, think the Island, surrounded by water and easily defended,
would be a good place. Jones river, sending its unimpeded waters to meet
the waves of the bay, attracts the attention of others. “So in the
morning, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this
resolution, to go presently ashore again, and to take a better view of
two places which we thought most fitting for us; for we could not now
take time for further search or consideration, our vituals being much
spent, especially our beer, and it being now the 19th of December (old
style). After our landing and visiting the places, so well as we could,
we came to a conclusion, by most voices, to set on a high ground, where
there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn
three or four years ago; and there is a very sweet brook runs under the
hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as can be drunk,
and where we may harbor our shallops and boats exceedingly well; and in
this brook fish in their season; on the further side of the river also
much corn ground cleared. In one field is a great hill on which we point
to make a platform, and plant our ordance, which will command all around
about. From thence we may see into the bay, and far into the sea; and we
may see thence Cape Cod. Our greatest labor will be the fetching of our
wood, which is half a quarter of an English mile; but there is enough so
far off. What people inhabit here we yet know not, for as yet we have
seen none. So there we made our rendezvous, and a place for some of our
people, about twenty, resolving in the morning to come all ashore and to
build houses.”
Cole’s Hill
“Not Winter’s sullen face,
Not the fierce, tawny race
In arms arrayed,
Not hunger shook their faith;
Not sickness’ baleful breath,
Not Carver’s early death,
Their souls dismayed.”
[Illustration: Illustrated capital]
Ascending the broad flight of steps leading to the brow of the hill, and
turning to the left, we tread upon sacred, hallowed ground. Here were
buried, in that dark, sad winter in which they landed, half of their
little band. The terrible tale is told concisely by the narrator already
quoted. “This month (March) thirteen of our number die. And in three
months past dies half our company—the greatest part in the depth of
winter, wanting houses and other comforts, being afflicted with the
scurvy and other diseases which their long voyage and unaccommodate
condition brought upon them, so as there die sometimes two or three a
day. Of a hundred persons scarce fifty remaining; the living scarce able
to bury the dead; the well not sufficient to tend the sick, there being
in their time of greatest distress, but six or seven, who spare no pains
to help them.” They buried them on this hill, and levelled the graves,
and in the spring following planted grain above them, that the Indians
might not know the extent of their great loss.
[Illustration: PILGRIM EXILES.]
At four different times the remains have been discovered. In 1735, in a
great rain, the water, rushing down Middle Street to the harbor, caused
a deep gully there, exposing human remains and washing them into the
sea. In 1855, workmen engaged in digging trenches for the water works
found parts of five skeletons. The graves were in the roadway, about
five rods south of the foot of Middle Street. One of the skulls was sent
to a competent anatomist in Boston, and was pronounced to be of the
Caucasian race. The remains were carefully gathered and placed in a
metallic box, properly inscribed, and interred on Burial Hill,
subsequently being deposited in the chamber of the canopy over the Rock,
at its completion in the year 1867. Again, on the 8th of October, 1883,
during grading on the hill, other remains were found which were
carefully removed, and afterwards, on the 20th of November, enclosed in
a lead box and re-interred on the precise spot of their original burial.
Directly over the grave a granite slab has been placed by order of the
town, bearing an appropriate inscription. On the 27th of November, 1883,
others still were found which lie undisturbed near the last, and their
exact resting-place is designated on the memorial slab above mentioned.
Cole’s Hill has other histories, also. From the first days its position
above and commanding the harbor led to its being selected as a place of
defence. In 1742 the General Court granted a sum of money to the town to
erect a battery here. In 1775, the old defence having gone to decay, a
new one was built and manned, and continued to be kept up during the
war. In 1814 still another fort was thrown up here, and placed in charge
of companies of soldiers stationed in the town. In 1915-16 the brow of
the hill southeast of Middle Street was filled off, continuing the
esplanade from North to Leyden Street, much improving former conditions.
(Extensive changes are about to be made on the level of the hill, and
the Pilgrim graves recovered from the highway and properly marked.)
Leyden Street
(Originally named First Street, afterwards in the Records called
Great and Broad Street; named Leyden Street in 1823.)