The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.
Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of
the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In
Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is
displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the
history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve
this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a
comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The
Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing
articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of
the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.
The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection
of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town
overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area
directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the
Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the
settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of
others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor
the Pilgrim Fathers.
Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the
Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the
occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members
attend.
Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate
with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00
per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to
Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities
of the Society.
_Those interested in a documented and more detailed study of arms
and armor in all the colonies should see the author’s book_, Arms
and Armor in Colonial America, 1526-1783, _the Stackpole Company.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956._