October 3, 2021 - Plymouth Rock
And there it is!!! Plymouth Rock, in all its majesty.
This is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620, although the Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings.
The first known written reference to the rock dates to 1715 when it was described in the town boundary records as "a great rock." The first documented claim that Plymouth Rock was the landing place of the Pilgrims was made by old Thomas Faunce in 1741, 121 years after the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth.
In 1774, the rock broke in half during an attempt to haul it to Town Square in Plymouth. One portion remained in Town Square and was moved to Pilgrim Hall Museum in 1834. It was rejoined with the other portion of the rock, which was still at its original site on the shore of Plymouth Harbor, in 1880. The date 1620 was inscribed at that time. The rock is now ensconced beneath a granite canopy designed by McKim, Mead & White.
And there is the Mayflower! Actually, it's a full-scale replica of the 17th-century Pilgrim ship.
Another look at the Mayflower II.
Whether the Pilgrims came ashore at the exact spot where Plymouth Rock is now or not, one thing is clear: The Pilgrims were brave people, to cross an ocean on such a small ship, and set up a colony on a new continent they knew nothing about. Nearly half of the original 102 passengers died during the first winter. It is right that Plymouth Rock is a memorial to these brave people.
