Cookn Travels: A Rock and Lobsters

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Our historical vacation continued with a visit to the place where American's first settled. Massachusetts holds a lot of our history and it was great to share it with our boys.

Plymouth Massachusetts

We stayed in Southern Mass about 30 minutes from Plymouth. It was a rainy day but we headed to Plymouth anyways. This sleepy sea-side town is an easy half day excursion. We walked around town and followed the historical map but the best discovery was all the Lobster statues around town. Dunovan thought it was a lot fun hunting them down to get his picture taken with them.

Plimoth Grist Mill

This is a replica museum of the first mill built by the pilgrims in the colonies, almost 10 years after the first settlement, in 1636. Operator John Jenney was paid in corn from the colonists who brought their corn for grinding. After his death in 1644 the mill was left to his wife, Sarah and son Samuel, who ran the mill until 1683.

The Jenney Museum and Shops are home to a museum on the history of industry in Plymouth and local artists.

Burial Hill Cemetary

This cemetery has been used since the 1620's but originally wooden markers were used and no longer exist today. The earliest head stone dates 1681 and the newest is 1957. This is also the site for the Pilgrims' original fort/meeting house.

The fort was used for meetings and church services until around 1648. In 1648, the first of four church buildings on the town square was constructed.

First Parish Church

The first church structure was built on the town square in 1684. then replaced in 1744. The First Parish Church was built in 1899, it replaced an 1831 wooden structure.

Plymouth Rock

We took a short stroll from the town square to Pilgrim Memorial State Park, located on the shore of Plymouth harbor. Plymouth Rock is housed inside a memorial structure and is completely visible during low tide.

There is no actual historical evidence to prove this is the exact spot the Pilgrims took their first steps into the new world, but was identified by 94-year-old- church elder Thomas Faunce. Faunce's father arrived in Plymouth in 1623 and identified this was the boulder used by him and other Mayflower passengers.

The rock is split in two because at one point residents tried to move it to the town square. The boulder broke in two and part of the rock was moved to the town square and later a museum. It was put back together in 1880 but other pieces of the boulder were chipped away over time and part of it was used as a threshold in a local home.

1749 Courthouse Museum

Both a county and local courthouse, it was in operation from 1749 until the new courthouse was built in 1820. It was also used as a meeting house when court was not in session. After the new courthouse was built the town purchased the building and was used as a town office building until the 1950's. Today it operates as a museum that displays local historical facts. This is a free museum.

National Monument to the Forefathers

This 81 foot granite statue was built in honor of the passengers of the Mayflower. Its inscription reads, "National Monument to the Forefathers. Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices, and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty."

Lobster Crawl

These Lobsters are sponsored by the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and is an arts, tourism, and charitable event. They are sponsored by local businesses and organisations. We used the map but still couldn't find all 29 of them but had fun trying. Doug and Dunovan ventured out in the pouring rain to snap the most pictures.