Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational
organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of
Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,
is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community
from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning
village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses
in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and
sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public
from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people
per year.
The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses
near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a
Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.
These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication
program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the
end of the 17th century.
The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the
Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the
Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.