FOREWORD

Plymouth preserves with loyal respect the places which are associated with her Forefathers, the Pilgrims.

In the town they founded, tablets, statues, and public monuments bear witness to the veneration that historical societies, the State, and the Nation, hold for the memory of that small group of men and women, simple in their origin, exalted in their purpose, who were destined to prove themselves great among the greatest, and whose example of a free commonwealth and a free faith, is one of the far-reaching influences in history.

Many questions are asked by visitors to Plymouth about Plymouth history and the localities of Pilgrim Life. It is the purpose of this short guide to review the Pilgrim story and give in the words of permanent inscriptions, the public estimation of the Pilgrims and their accomplishment.

Plymouth, 1938.

PILGRIM HALL

In grateful memory Of our ancestors Who exiled themselves from their native country for the sake of Religion And here successfully laid the foundation of Freedom and Empire December XXII A.D. MDCCCXX their descendants the Pilgrim Society have raised this edifice August XXXI MDCCCXXIV

PLYMOUTH

“Forever honored be this, the place of our fathers’ refuge! Forever remembered the day which saw them, weary and distressed, broken in everything but spirit, poor in all but faith and courage, at last secure from the dangers of wintry seas, and impressing this shore with the first footsteps of civilized man!”

—Daniel Webster

From the oration delivered at Plymouth December 22, 1820, in commemoration of the first settlement of New England.