Originally known as Plimouth, the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts is viewed as the home of the first Thanksgiving feast. It is also well known for Plymouth rock, the traditional site of where William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed when they founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. The rock is housed inside a large granite columned structure. When you see the rock itself, you'll be amazed at how small it is. Once known as "The Great Rock," it looks more like a lawn decoration from Home Depot. What happened?!? Back in 1774, it was removed from its original spot to put it on display in the town square, at which point it broke in half. Over the years, pieces of it were sold for profit and what you see now is all that remains. Yes, people paid to get a "piece of the rock."
While Plymouth Rock "tells" the traditional story of Thanksgiving, another nearby rock on Cole's Hill tells the story of "National Day of Mourning." Every year since 1970, thousands of Native Americans have gathered in the area as a reminder to all that their people lost: their culture, their land, and especially the millions of lives at the hands of those who traveled by ship to settle here. It was an eye opening experience to see this small reminder of what actually occurred here. It wasn't all turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. My friend Brett of Bretton Rocks, who is a descendant of the Wampanoag Tribe, gave me a tour of Plymouth and a Reader's Digest version of its true history.
The first Pilgrim burial ground, known as Burial Hill, was established on Cole's Hill in 1620.
Some of the tombstones had very simple inscriptions:
while others had interesting carved details. I love this stuff!
The view of Plymouth from the cemetery was spectacular:
See more photos of Plymouth at my main website.
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