OLD PLYMOUTH A GUIDE TO ITS LOCALITIES ANT) OBJECTS OF INTEREST. AVERY & DOTEN, Publishers, PLYMOUTH, MASS. OLD COLONY MEMORIAL PRESS. 1884. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Special Collections & Rare Books §LD#lLYMOUTH : A GUIDE TO ITS LOCALITIES AND OBJECTS OF INTEREST. AVERY & DOTEN, Publishers, PLYMOUTH, MASS., OLD COLONY MEMORIAL PRESS. 1884. [Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1878, by Avery & Doten, in the oihce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.] PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. I H E rapid sales of the first and second '&z),$ editions of the Guide, evidence that the » i$& book meets the wants of visitors to these Pilgrim scenes, while the lapse of time with its changes, calls for the present revised issue. There is no intention of giving in these pages an extended history, but rather to direct attention to the localities of interest generally sought, and to detail such description as will enable the visitor to associate with them the deeds and character of the Forefathers. If the Guide proves an intelligent and agree- able companion in a stroll through the Town, one of the principal objects of its publication will be accomplished. THE PUBLISHERS. Plymouth, January, 1884. Plymouth bay Scale Si Miles per Inch OLD PLYMOUTH: ITS LOCALITIES AND OBJECTS OF INTEREST. SEASIDE. " The Pilgrim Fathers— where are they? The waves that brought them o'er Still roll in the bay, and throw their spray, As they break along the shore." *HE introduction of visitors to Plymouth, as §Hci they come by rail, is at Seaside, a station »£4£a in the extreme north part of the town. V The dividing line between Kingston and Plymouth runs through the middle of the little station, and the northerly part, which is the residence of the station keeper, is in Kingston, and the southerly part, the station proper, is in Plymouth. OLD PLYMOUTH. As the cars move past the thicket of trees and shrubs to stop, the occupants come in full view of the beautiful panorama of Plymouth Harbor, spread out before their eyes. At the near left, across the Bay, is seen Captain's Hill, so-called from its being the home of Capt. Myles Standish, and on its crest is an unfinished monument in honor of the Pilgrim warrior. Farther along is seen Rouse's Hummock, the American terminus of the French Atlantic Cable. The next promi- nent object is Clark's Island, where the Pilgrims spent their first Sabbath in Plymouth. Next to this is the headland of Saquish, and beyond is the Gurnet with its twin lighthouses. Opposite these, the bold bluff of Manomet thrusts itself out into the bay, while nearer inland the long. thin ribbon of Plymouth Beach runs across the harbor, like an artificial breakwater, to arrest the waves of the ocean. Few scenes can surpass this in loveliness, if the visitor is fortunate enough to arrive when the tide is in. Although by the configuration of the land, Plymouth Harbor seems to have been designed for a perfect haven against every wind that blows, unfortunately it is dependent upon a full sea for depth enough of water to float vessels of much draught at the wharves. In 1876 the United States Government dug a channel from the wharves to Broad Channel, where there is I OLD PLYMOUTH. always a good depth of water, so that now ves- sels drawing six feet can come to the wharves at low tide, and at high tide those drawing twelve or fourteen feet. Further improvements were made by the government in 1880 and 1881 in this channel, and at the wharves. As the train moves from Seaside station, on our right is seen a long, low building. This is the ■•laying ground" of the Plymouth Cordage Company, so called because here the ropes and cables manufactured are -'laid" or twisted up from the smaller strands of which they are com- posed. These works were established in 1824, and are the Largest and most complete of the kind in the country, if not in the world. Beyond the laying ground are the brick factories and storehouses, one of the latter being a United States bonded warehouse, where the foreign hemp used in the works is kept. Here are made ropes of all sizes and lengths, from lines smaller than a lead pencil, to immense cables tit to hold the largest ships in the severest gales. A curiosity can be seen here in the shape of a locomotive engine running without fire, steam or smoke, the propelling power being condensed air. Tracks are laid connecting the factories, storehouses, and laying ground, the track running into the latter, and along nearly its whole length. OLD PLYMOUTH. THE STATUE. " O welcome pure ey'd Faith, white handed Hope, Thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings." Soou after leaving the works of the Cordage Company, there is seen on the right hand side of the railroad, clearly cut against the sky, a noble and majestic figure with up-pointing hand and finger. This is the Statue of Faith on the Na- tional Monument to the Pilgrims, which we shall visit in due time. The figure, seen in bold relief on the approach to the town, is very beautiful. THE TOWN. " Ay, call it holy ground,— The soil where first they trod: They left unstained what here they found, Freedom to worship God." As we approach the end of the journey and | near the last station, we see on the right the brick buildings of the Plymouth Woolen Mills. \ erected in 1863, and sold in 1879 to parties from Franklin Falls, N. H., who greatly eriiarged the \ mills and have since carried on an extensive business in the manufacture of standard woolen cloths. The business of this mill is one of the principal industries of the town. OLD PLYMOUTH. IK' Emerging from the station, we take our way through the little park of the railroad company. On our right is a large wooden building, four stories in hight, one hundred and fifty feet long, and thirty-five feet wide, with an L of nearly equal proportions. This is the boot and shoe factory of F. F. Emery. The land was given by the railroad corporation, and the building erected by a subscription of citizens of the town in 1873, and made a free gift to the firm of F. Jones & Co.. who established the business here. At the end of the park we come to Court Street, the county road from Kingston. Opposite, in its nice grounds, is the Samoset House. This hotel was built by the Old Colony Railroad Corpora- tion, at the completion of the road in 1845. It was afterward bought by an Association, com- posed mostly of citizens of the town, and in 1883 passed into the proprietorship of Mr. D. H. May.nard. It has always borne an excellent reputation as a hotel, and in all its appointments is now one of the finest in the county. Turning to our left as we gain the street, we walk towards the village. On our right we pass St. Peter's Church (Roman Catholic), erected in 1873. In the rear is a building for the residence of the priest. His parish includes Plymouth and Kingston. 10 OLD PLYMOUTH. PILGRIM HALL. "The memory of the just is blessed." We come now at our left to a building with a Doric portico, standing a little way from the street. This is Pilgrim Hall, erected in 1824 by the Pilgrim Society, as a monumental hall to the memory of the Pilgrims. In 1880 it was rebuilt in a fire-proof manner, at a cost of over $15,000, | by Joseph Henry Stickney, Esq., a wealthy Balti- more merchant of Boston nativity, who on a i casual visit to Plymouth, became so impressed with the importance of preserving with the great- ; est care the interesting relics of the Pilgrims there i deposited, that he most liberally made this large : j expenditure to secure these precious memorials | i from loss by fire. At the same time he provided for better classification and exhibition of the articles, those immediately connected with the Pilgrims being disposed, mostly in glass cases, in the main hall, while an interesting museum of antique curiosities is arranged in the room below. Exteriorly, marked improvement was made by raising the Doric porch to the hight of the main building ; ornamenting the pediment with a finely executed allegorical "Landing," in demi-relief, and repainting and sanding the whole front in imitation of stone. Quite a change was made in 11 OLD PLYMOUTH. the front area by the removal of the portion of Plymouth Rock, which for forty-six years had been a prominent object here, back to the Land- ing- place. The iron fence, formerly surrounding the Rock, now stands at the northerly side of the building, enclosing an appropriate slab bearing as an inscription the wording of the memorable "Compact" made in the cabin of the Mayflower, and the names of the forty-one signers of this Compact appear on the heraldic curtains of the fence. The hall is kept open daily, with the exception of Sundays, at regular hours for the accommodation of visitors, a fee of twenty-five cents being charged to compensate the services of a custodian. In the vestibule of the building a handsome tablet of Tennessee marble bears the following inscription : PILGRIM HALL. BUILT A. D., 1824, BY THE PILGRIM SOCIETY, IN MEMORY OF THE FOREFATHERS. REBUILT A. D., 1880, BY JOS. HENRY STICKNEY, OF BALTIMORE, Md. At the right is the curator's neatly furnished ante-room, where visitors record their names and find entrance to the main hall. In this ante-room b 13 OLD PLYMOUTH. is an excellent picture of the "Landing" executed in distemper, presented by Robert G. Shaw, of Boston. Here, also, is a clock once owned by Gov. Hancock, and still keeping correct time, although over one hundred and eighty years old. On the wall hangs a commission from Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, to Gov- ernor Edward Winslow as one of the arbitrators between Great Britain and the United Provinces of Holland. It is written on parchment, and is particularly valuable from having a contempo- raneous portrait of Cromwell, which is in the upper left hand comer. The original signature was torn off by some unscrupulous visitor, but has been supplied by a finely executed foe simile. The main hall is forty-six by thirty-nine feet, with walls twenty-two feet high, and is lighted entirely from the roof. A good back-ground is made for the pictures by plain maroon coloring of the walls, with a handsome Grecian border above, while neat frescoing covers the ceiling. At the east end is the large picture of the Land- ing, thirteen by sixteen feet, painted by Henry Sargent, of Boston, an amateur artist, and pre- sented by him to the Society in 1834. Its esti- mated value was $3,000, and the massive frame cost about $400. At the left is a portrait of the venerable Dr. James Thacher, the first Secretary of the Pilgrim Society. He was the author of 14 OLD PLYMOUTH. Thacher's Military Journal and a History of Plymouth, which has been considered one of the best ever published. The picture upon the right is a line painting, and a most excellent likeness of the gentleman who so disinterestedly and gen- erously remodelled and beautified Pilgrim Hall, Joseph Henry Stickney, Esq., of Baltimore. The portrait was painted by D. G. Pope, a Baltimore artist, and in subject and execution is worthy of its place in this Pilgrim temple. In the middle of the south wall is hung the large copy of AVier's Embarkation from Delft Haven, from the original in the rotunda of the capitol at Washington, done for the Society by Edgar Parker, and on either side are portraits of Rev. John Alden, great grandson of John Alden of the Mayflower ; Dr. James Kendall, for fifty- two years minister of the First Church ; Hon. John Davis and Col. John Trumbull. In the centre of the north side hangs the noble gift of ex-Gov. Alexander H. Rice, of Massa- chusetts, — Charles Lucy's large painting of the Embarkation. This picture is of great value, and at a prize exhibition in England took the first premium of a thousand guineas. It is altogether different in color and tone from either of the others, and will bear close study. Original por- traits of the Winslow family, — Gov. Edward Winslow, Gen. John Winslow, Gov. Josiah Wins- 15 OLD PLYMOUTH, low and his wife Penelope, are hung on either side of the Embarkation. Josiah Winslow was the first native born Governor of the colony. His grandson, Gen. John Winslow, was a Major General of the British army, and held several important commands. He was the officer who, under orders from England, removed from their homes the French Acadians, whose sorrows Long- fellow has made classic. The portrait of Gov. Edward Winslow is the o^.ly one in existence, so far as known, of any person who came in the Mayflower. Upon the westerly wall are a number of por- traits, including those of Hon. Joshua Thomas, the first President of the Society, and of Dea. Ephraim Spooner. The latter was a prominent citizen of the town ; chairman of the selectmen through the Revolutionary War, in which capacity he rendered the country efficient service, and for fifty-one years was town clerk. There are large portraits of Gen. Joseph Trumbull, first Speaker of the -House of Representatives at Washington, and of Hon. Daniel Webster, the famous Massa- chusetts statesman, whose home was in Marshfield, near Plymouth. Besides these are a fine portrait of Washington, and a copy, from an original por- trait, of Sir Walter Raleigh, painted in 1775 by E. Alcock, London, and formerly the property of President Jefferson. Portraits of the Winslow 16 OLD PLYMOUTH. family, including John and Isaac, and that of Elizabeth Wensley, are also on this wall. The most prominent among the pictures which occupy this end, however, are the original crayon sketch made in 1817 by Edwin White, for his large pic- ture of "The Signing of the Compact," in the Trumbull gallery at New Haven, Conn., and W. F. Halsall's very valuable and finely executed painting of the Mayflower at anchor in the har- bor of Plymouth, in the winter of 1620. These two pictures are well worthy the attention they receive. With these also are engravings of scenes in Pilgrim history, some of much merit. Across the head of the hall, under the Sargent picture, is a raised platform and railing, and here are shown the large articles connected with Pil- grim history, as the model of the Mayflower, the chairs of Elder Brewster and Gov. Carver, the Peregrine White cradle, etc. A case at the oppo- site end of the hall contains a collection of arti- cles belonging to the First Church, among which is the book given Gov. Bradford by Pastor John Robinson, brought over in the Mayflower by Bradford, and afterwards given by him to the church ; a book printed by Elder Brewster ; the note book of Elder Faunce ; a number of inter- esting autographs, and a collection of vessels used in the Sacrament, presented to the church 17 OLD PLYMOUTH. Model of the Mayflower. many years ago, but now superceded by those of more modern style. The Allien case stands on the south side of the hall, near the Sargent picture, -and contains John Alden's bible, printed in 1620 ; a halberd he once owned and probably brought with him in the Mayflower : also ancient documents with his sig- nature. Next to this is the Standish case, in which is the famous Damascus sword of the redoubtable Pilgrim captain. Gen. Grant, on his visit to Plymouth, Oct. 14th, 18. was much interested in this ancient weapon, and handled it with evident satisfaction. The Arabic inscrip- 18 OLD PLYMOUTH. Governor Carver's Chair. tions on the blade have always been a puzzle, and notwithstanding many attempts, remained undecipherable until the visit to the town, June 7th, 1881 , of Prof. James Rosedale, of Jerusalem, with a troupe of Arabs from Palestine. Mr. Rose- dale, being an excellent linguist, was shown the sword, and pronounced the inscriptions to be of different dates, one of them in Cufic, very old, 19 OLD PLYMOUTH. Elder Brewster's Chair. and the other in Mediaeval Arabic of a later period, but still very ancient. To the last he readily gave the following translation : "With peace God ruled Ms slaves, (creatures,) and with the judgment of His arm He troubled the mighty of the wicked." 20 ■w 1 OLD PLYMOUTH. He had no doubt that the weapon dated back two or three centuries before the Christian era, and might be much older. It is probable that this famous blade came down to Capt. Standish from the Crusaders, and possessed an interesting a -jr Sword, Platter and Pot of Myles Standish. history even in his day. In this case is an iron pot and other articles found a number of years since in the cellar of the Standish house at Dux- bury. There is also a piece of embroidery, worked by the daughter of Capt. Standish, at the bottom of which is wrought the following verse : Lorea Standish is my name, Lord guide mv heart that I may do Thy will ; Also fill my hands with such convenient skill As will conduce to virtue void of shame, And I will give the glory to Thy name. Below the Standish case is one containing a miscellaneous collection, among which is one of the most interesting relics in the hall ; this is the 21 OLD PLYMOUTH. first patent granted to the Plymouth Colonists by the New England Company, and is the oldest state paper in existence in the United States. A patent was granted by the Virginia Company in the name of John Wineob, but never used. About the time of the departure of the Forefathers from England for this country, a new company was created by a royal charter, within the limits of which Plymouth was included, and in 1621 this patent was given to John Pierce and his associ- ates by the New England Company, and sent over in the Fortune, arriving here in November of that year. This patent was found in the land office in Boston, among a mass of old papers, by William Smith, Esq., one of the land committee. The Hon. John Davis, then editing a new edition of Morton's New England Memorials, obtained it for his use in this book, and from him it came into the possession of the late Morton Davis. Esq., in whose family it remained until recently, and was finally deposited in the Hall by Mrs. Win. II. Whitman. It bears the seals and sig- natures of the Dnke of Lenox ; the Marquis of Hamilton : the Earl of Warwick and Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges. There is one other signature, but it is so obscurely written as to be illegible. On the north side, nearest the ante-room, is the Winslow case with articles that have been in possession of this family, and near by is the 22 OLD PLYMOUTH. Winslow table, of massive English oak, and a chair, both articles having formerly been the property of Gov. Edward Winslow. Next above this is the White case, containing interesting relics formerly belonging to William White and his son Peregrine. Next is another miscellaneous case, in which is the famous long shot Thompson gun ; and the gun barrel with which King Phillip was killed. The original manuscript of Mrs. Heman's celebrated ode, "The breaking waves dashed high," as also the original of William Cullen Bryant's poem, "Wild was the day, the wintry sea," both presented by the late James T. Fields, of Boston, are also in this case, ■ together with a copy of Eliot's Indian Bible, of which there are now no more than four, it is believed, extant. There is here likewise a piece of a mulberry tree planted at Scrooby, England, by Cardinal Woolsey. The north ante-room is fitted up as a library, and contains cases of ancient, rare and invalu- able books and ancient documents belonging to the society. An old sofa formerly owned by Gov. Hancock, upon which he probably sat and plotted treason with Samuel Adams against the English crown, is in this room. On the walls of this room are copies of the Winslow portraits, the originals of which are now in the main hall, having become the property of the society, by 23 OLD PLYMOUTH. bequest of the late Isaac Winslow, of Hingham, in 1883. Here also may be seen the original signatures of those present at the Pilgrim Society dinner, Dec. 22cl, 1820, at which time Mr. Webster delivered his famous oration. The roll contains the names of many distinguished men of those times. In this room is the coat of arms of the British Crown, which iu " Good Old Colony times when we were under the King," hung over the Judge's seat in the colonial Court House, now our old Town House. When the Revolution broke out and the loyalists had to flee, this was carried away by the Tory Judge, or Clerk of the Courts, to Shelburne, N. S., from whence it was returned, some years ago, to its old home. From the first ante-room a flight of stairs conducts to the basement, where all desired con- veniences for visitors will be found. In the lower hall is an interesting museum of articles, which have been separated from the Pilgrim col- lection, and as pertaining to ancient da} T s in many instances, or as curiosities, will well repay exam- ination. 24 OLD PLYMOUTH. THE COURT HOUSE. " Though justice be thy plea, consider this,— That iii the course of justice none of us should see salvation." At our right hand, soon after leaving Pilgrint Hall, we see a large building with a handsome facade, standing a little back from the street, and fronted by a small park enclosed in an iron fence. This is the County Court House, erected in 1820, and remodeled in 1857. It was partially destroyed by fire, Nov. 7th, 1881, the roof being burned ; but, owing to a plentiful supply of water from the town works and the efficiency of the steam fire department, the building was saved, with but little damage to the lower part, and there was no loss of the valuable records and papers. It is one of the finest buildings of the kind in the State, and the judges of the different courts give it precedence in point of beauty, con- venience, etc., over all they visit. It has two entrances. The northerly one leads to a cor- ridor, from which is a stairway to the large court room above ; admittance to a smaller court room for Probate and Grand Jury room ; and rear doors to offices, the principal openings to which are from the other corridor. The southerly entrance is to a corridor paved with Vermont marble, and from which leads a flight of stairs for the Court, mem- bers of the bar, officers and jurymen, to the court room. On the left, below, is the room of c 25 The Court House. OLD PLYMOUTH. the County Treasurer ; on the right, that of Clerk of the Courts ; beyond, on the right, is the Reg- istry of Probate, and opposite, the Registry of Deeds. In the latter room the visitor will find much of interest. Here are the earliest records of Plymouth Col- ony, in the handwriting of the men who are now held in reverence the world over for their courage in braving the perils of an unknown sea and an equally unknown shore, to face the dangers of savage men and savage beasts, in their constancy to what they believed to be their duty, and for planting on this spot the great principles of a government by the people. " A church without a bishop, A state without a king." Here is their writing, some of it quaint and crabbed, some fair and legible. Here, on these very pages, rested the hands, fresh from handling the sword and the musket, or the peaceful imple- ments of husbandry, of Bradford and Brewster and Standish, and others of that heroic band. Here is the original laying out of the first street, Leyden Street. Here is the plan of the plots of ground, first assigned for yearly use, which they called in the tinge of the Dutch tongue they had acquired in their long residence in Holland, ••meersteads." Here are the simple, and yet wise, rules, — laws they can hardly yet be called, 27 OLD PLYMOUTp. — laid clown for the government of the infant Colony. The curious searcher will look in vain for the evidence of their unjustly alleged bigotry or narrow-mindedness. The Pilgrims of Ply- mouth Colony have had to bear for many years the stigma and opprobrium of deeds done by the younger, more aristocratic and bigoted Coloiry of Massachusetts Puritans of Salem and Boston. Within a few years the truth is being learned, proper distinctions made, and the memory of the men of Plymouth justified. It is now generally known that the Pilgrims, as distinguished from the Puritans of Massachusetts, were broader and more liberal in their ideas than the men of the lat- ter Colony, and for which, at the time, they were bullied aud reprimanded by the richer and more influential men of the Bay. The Massachusetts Puritans, and not the Plymouth Pilgrims, hung witches, persecuted Quakers and Baptists, and committed like excesses, and it was at Plymouth, Roger Williams found a temporary asylum, when driven out of Boston. In these early records are contained the whole history of the plantation. Here were recorded the laws, the deeds and mortgages, the wills and all things pertaining thereto. What we now divide into several offices, all are here in one. Here is the will of Stand ish ; the order establishing jury trial, in Governor Bradford's writing ; the order for the first cus- 28 OLD PLYMOUTH. toms law ; the division of cattle into lots, one cow being divided into thirteen lots. It was fou r years after the landing before any domestic cattle were brought over, and in order to equalize them they were divided into lots, each family having one. It must have been a pretty nice affair to divide the milk of one cow among thirteen par- ties, to satisfy all. Here also is the original patent to the Com- pany from the Earl of Warwick, granted in 1629, with its great wax seal engraved for the purpose, and the original box in which it came from Eng- land. Here are signatures, also, of nearly as much interest as those of the Pilgrims them- selves ; the marks of the original proprietors of all these broad fields and forests, whose names are represented by signs of bows and tortoises, of reptiles and animals ; the race which has wasted away before the incoming flood, the first ripple of which we are now tracing, like the morning dew before the rays of the rising sun. Traces of them yet remain. Hardly a year passes but their bones or their implements are thrown up by the plow or the spade. In the south part of the town, and in the next town of Sandwich, a few of unmixed blood still survive, descendants of the original inhabitants who saw the white sails of the Mayflower rise from the distant horizon and bear across the bay. 29 OLD PLYMOUTH. Here are also ancient deeds written in the Indian language, as put in form by Eliot and Mayo. The record clerk must have had his patience severely taxed when they were copied. Going up the flight of stairs, we come to a landing from which 0{Jens rooms for juries, judg- es, law library, and the principal court room. This is a loft}' and spacious, well lighted and ventilated room, elegantly fitted and furnished for its uses. Grounds prettily laid out. with lawns and shrubbery, are in the rear of the Court House, and within their limits is the residence of the Sheriff of the County and Keeper of the Prison. Opposite Court Square is the .site of the new Methodist Church, an edifice projected at this writing, and which it is intended shall be an ornamental and prominent feature of the locality. THE PRISON. " I stood in Venire, on the Bridge of Sighs : A palace anil a prison on each hand." Do you wish to enter yonder gloomy looking building, surrounded by a significantly high, spiked fence? A pull at the bell handle at the gateway causes a dissonant clamor of a gong, and the call is answered. As we enter, the door is securely locked behind us. Pause one moment just as*we step within the gate ; from where we 30 OLD PLYMOUTH. stand, a few years ago the soul of the triple kin murderer, Sturtevant, was sent, hardened and defiant to the last, to appear before the Great Judge of all. The old jail, built in 1820, was long ago condemned by the humanitarian progress of the age, and the upper part only is used, happily with extreme rarity, as a woman's prison, the dungeons in the lower part being now used for storage purposes. The brick House of Correction was built in 1852. It was a model institution then, but is now surpassed by more modern erections, and while intended to be large enough for a long time to come, crime of a petty nature increases so fast that for several years the necessity of another building has been impera- tively demanded for the safety and health of the prisoners. The upper story is a workshop for the convicts, while the cells, thirty-two in num- ber, in two ranges, one above the other, occupy the rest of the room. THE ROCK. "A rock in the wilderness welcomed our sires From bondage far over the dark rolling sea; On that holy altar they kindled the fires, Jehovah, which glow in our bosoms tor thee." We are now about to visit Forefathers' Rock. Passing along Court Street a little further we come to its intersection with Shirley Square. On the corner is the power newspaper and job 31 OLD PLYMOUTH. printing office of Avery & Doten, publishers of the --Old Colony Memorial." the old news- paper of the town, established in 1822". the lead- ing journal of the county, with an extensive and influential circulation. Their office, in point of completeness and capacity for all kinds of work, of which they do a large amount, will compare' favorably with any. except the largest, in the large cities. A9 we turn towards the water, on the opposite corner is a building now devoted to business purposes, but which was once one of the aristocratic mansions of the town. It is among the oldest in the place. We are not able to state by whom it was built, but several years before the Revolution it was owned and occupied as a residence by General John Wmslow. After him. and during the Revolutionary war, it was owned by General James Warren, and was the centre of the patriot movement of the town. The custom house and post-office were there in the early days of the country, and it was for many years a gen- teel residence, but, on account of age and the increasing business of the town, it was remodeled some years ago for its present purpose. Turning down North Street, leading to the water, in a little distance we come to the brow of the hill. On the left Winslow Street winds northward, and on it we see an old mansion, partially hidden by two noble old trees. This 32 OLD PLYMOUTH. Canopy over Plymouth Rock. house was built by Edward Winslow, brother to General John Winslow, some lime before the Revolution. He had the frame got out in Eng- land and brought over for this purpose. The trees in front were planted by his daughter about 1760. Descending the hill, at our right, a short dis- tance, we see a beautiful and artistic structure of granite in the shape of a canopy, supported on four columns, and under this is the Rock, now world famous. The upper portion of this renowned boulder, nearly all of that which is now 33 OLD PLYMOUTH. in sight, was for one hundred and live years separated from the original Rock, and during this long period occupied localities remote from the landing place. In 1775 during the first fresh enthusiasm of the Revolution, in endeavoring to raise the Rock from its bed on the shore, to prevent its being covered by the filling in of a wharf about it, this piece split off. Auguries of the separation of the Colonies from the Mother Country were then drawn from the circumstance, and the upper part was taken, amidst much rejoicing, to Town Square, where it was deposited at the foot of a liberty pole, from which waved a flag bearing the motto ''Liberty or Death." It remained there until 1834, when, at a celebration of the Fourth of July, it was carried in procession to Pilgrim Hall, deposited in the front area, and enclosed by the iron fence which now surrounds the tablet with the Compact near the same spot. Here it remained forty-six years, its incongruous position, away from the water, not being under- stood by visitors without lengthy explanation. Mr. Stickney, the gentleman by whose liberality the alterations in Pilgrim Hall were at this time being made, recognized the impropriety of this separation of the Rock, and proposed reuniting the parts at the original landing place. The Pil- grim Society readily acceded to this proposition, and accordingly on Monday, September 27th, 34 OLD PLYMOUTH. 1880, without ceremony, this part of the Rock was placed beneath the Monumental Canopy at the water-side, the reunited pieces probably now presenting much the same appearance as when the Pilgrim shallop grazed its side. As to the identity of this Rock, and the certainty of its being the very one consecrated by the first touch of Pilgrim feet on this shore, there is not the slightest loop hole for a doubt. Ancient records now accessible, refer to it as an object of promi- nence on the shore, before the building of the wharf about it in the year 1741. Thomas Faunce, the elder of the church, who was born in 1646 and died in 1745, was the son of John Faunce, who came over in the Ann in 1623. At the age of ninety-five years, hearing that the Rock, which from youth he had venerated, was to be disturbed, he visited the village, related the history of the Rock as told him by his father and contemporary Pilgrims, and in the presence of many witnesses declared it to be that upon which the Forefathers landed in 1620. Thus it has been pointed out and identified from one generation to another, and from the days of the first coiners to the present time. Not a shadow of distrust rests upon it as being the identical spot where the first landing was effected on the shore of Plymouth. Let us picture to ourselves the scene on that Mon- day morning, when, after their rest on Clark's 35 OLD PLYMOUTH. Island, they came in their shallop to inspect the new country that they had providentially found. The wharves and buildings and every trace of civilization vanish. All is wild and unknown. Across the harbor comes the boat, every eye anxiously and keenly scanning the strange shore to discover the presence of human beings, who will be sure to be enemies. They coast along the shore by cliff and lowland, hand on weapon, every sense alert for the expected war whoop and attack. A steep, sandy cliff, the base of which is washed by the water, meets their eye ; at its foot a great boulder, brought from some far away coast by glaciers, in some loug gone age. Oval in form, with a flat top, it seems the very place to bring the great clumsy boat up to, as from its top they can spring to the shore dry shod, a matter which, after their previous wading in ice cold water at the Cape, is of no small moment. The shallop is steered to its side ; the company step upon the Rock, and the Landing of the Forefathers, now so reverently commemorated, is completed. Look along the shore at this day, north or south, and you may see cliffs as this was then. Divested of romance thrown around it by time, it should be remembered that the "Land- ing" was that of the exploring party which had coasted around the bay, the Mayflower then being in Cape Cod Harbor. 36 OLD PLYMOUTH. "Mourt's Relation," written by one of the actors of this great drama, is a graphic and detailed account of the first landing and for some months after. It is the only one we have that gives us the now eagerly sought details, that at the time were thought too trivial to mention, but of which the least scrap is now as grains of gold. We shall quote him often. According to the "Relation," the exploring party having landed from the Rock, "marched also into the land and found divers cornfields and little running brooks, a place very good for situation. So we returned to our ship again with good news to the rest of the people, which did much comfort their hearts." The Mayflower weighs her anchor, and spread- ing sail moves across the bay. Feeling carefully their way. they pass the Gurnet, and navigate along the channel inside the beach, until, at the wide bend towards the town just above the pres- ent Beach Pavilion, as is believed by those who have studied the situation, the anchor is dropped, not to be again disturbed until the following Spring. But the location is not yet settled. Some, with the alarm of the recent encounters vividly impressed upon them, think the Island, surrounded by water and easily defended, would be a good place. Jones River, sending its waters unbridged to meet the waves of the bay, attracts the attention of others. "So in the morning, after d 37 OLD PLYMOUTH. we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolution, to go presently ashore again, and to take a better view of two places which we thought most fitting for ns ; for we could not now take time for further search or consi eration, our victuals being much spent, especiall} T our beer, and it being now the 19th of December. After our landing and viewing the places, so well as we could, we came to a conclusion, by most voices, to set on a high ground, where there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn three or four years ago ; and there is a very sweet brook runs under the hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as can be drunk. and where we may harbor our shallops and boats exceeding well ; and in this brook fish in their season ; on the further side of the river also much corn ground cleared. In one field is a great hill on which we point to make a platform, and plant our ordnance, which will command all around about. From thence we may see into the bay, and far into the sea ; and we may see thence Cape Cod. Our greatest labor will be the fetch- ing of our wood, which is half a quarter of an English mile ; but there is enough so far off. What people inhabit here we yet know not, for as yet we have seen none. So there we made our rendezvous, and a place for some of our people, about twenty, resolving in the morning to come all ashore and to build houses." 38 -&^&om OLD PLYMOUTH. COLE'S HILL. " Not Winter's sullen face, Not the tierce tawny race. In arms arrayed; Not hunger shook their faith, Not sickness' baleful breath, Not Carver's early death, Their souls dismayed." Ascending the broad flight of steps that now lead to the brow of the hill, and turning to the left, we tread upon sacred, hallowed ground. Here were buried, in that dark, sad winter in which they landed, half of their little band. The terrible tale is told concisely by the narrator already quoted. "This month" (March) "thir- teen of our number die. And in three months past, dies half our company ; the greatest part in the depth of winter, wanting houses and other comforts, being afflicted with the scurvy and other diseases, which their long voyage and unaceomodate condition brought upon them ; so as there die sometime two or three a day. Of a hundred persons scarce fifty remaining ; the living- scarce able to bury the dead ; the well not suffi- cient to tend the sick, there being, in their t.me of greatest distress, but six or seven, who spare no pains to help them." They buried them on this hill, and leveled the graves, and in the spring following planted corn above them, that 39 OLD PLYMOUTH. the Indians might not know the extent of then- great loss. At four different times the remains have been discovered. In 1735, in a great rain, the water rushing down Middle Street to the harbor, caused a deep gully there, exposing human remains and washing them into the sea. In 1855, workmen engaged in digging trenches for the water work.-, found parts of live skele- tons. The graves were in the roadway, about five rods south of the foot of Middle Street. One of the skulls was sent to a competent anato- mist in Boston, and was pronounced to be of the Caucasian race. The remains were care- fully gathered and placed in a metallic box. pro- perly inscribed, and interred on Burial Hill. subsequently being deposited in the chamber of the Canopy over the Rock, at its completion in the year 1867. Again, on the 8th of October, 1r