Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock, the site where it is believed the Pilgrims first set foot on land here, was a must see for us. It's history is, well, colorful.  It wasn’t until 1741, 121 years after the arrival of the Mayflower—that the 10-ton boulder in Plymouth Harbor was identified as the precise spot where Pilgrim feet first trod. The claim was made by 94-year-old Thomas Faunce, a church elder who said his father, who arrived in Plymouth in 1623, and several of the original Mayflower passengers assured him the stone was the specific landing spot.  As a result of his declaration it was decided to move the rock to prevent it being buried under a proposed wharf.

The rock proved to be too heavy to move, so the top part was cut off.  It was moved around town several times over the years, dropped, broken, cemented back together and had the date 1620 carved into it in the 1800's by a local stonecutter.

Eventually the top portion was reunited with the lower portion on the beach, but by this time it was only about 1/4 it's original size because people had been allowed to chip off souvenir pieces of it.

The Rock is now protected inside this structure, but available for viewing.