Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts

Plymouth, Massachusetts - site of second permanent English settlement in North America

Plymouth is just a short 30-minute drive south of Boston.

Plymouth Harbor


The Mayflower ship left Plymouth (England) and the Pilgrims called their permanent settlement in North America also Plymouth. The photos show Plymouth Harbor with Mayflower II, a replica ship of the original Mayflower.

Plymouth Rock


Plymouth Rock is a boulder of granite at the foot of Cole's Hill. The rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of the Mayflower Pilgrims (source: Wikipedia). The second photo shows a hillside view at the structure that protects the Plymouth Rock.

Plymouth and Native American History


The statue on top of Cole's Hill is of Massasoit who was the Great Sachem of the Native American tribe of Wampanoags. Massasoit prevented the failure of Plymouth Colony and the almost certain starvation that the Pilgrims faced during the earliest years of the colony's establishment. The settlers were not so kind to his son Metacom, who adopted the name "Philip" and succeeded his father in 1662. Metacomet started an uprising against the settlers that would later bear his name, King Philip's War. Hunted by a group of rangers, Metacomet was fatally shot in 1676. After his death, his wife and 8-year-old son were captured and sold as slaves in Bermuda while his head was mounted on a pike at the entrance to Fort Plymouth, where it remained for over two decades (source: Wikipedia).

Mayflower II


The Mayflower II is a replica of the 17th century ship Mayflower, known for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World (source: Wikipedia).


The ocean front street of Plymouth.

Provincetown, Cape Cod -- Where Pilgrims First Stepped on American Soil

Provincetown is at the very tip of the Cape Cod peninsula, a 2-and-a-half-hour-drive south of Boston.

Provincetown Beaches


One of the beaches of Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. Beaches are part of the Cape Cod National Seashore park.

Pilgrim Monument


Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown. MA. Pilgrim Monument commemorates Provincetown as the first place where pilgrims set foot on American soil.


Pilgrim Monument


A view from the top of the Pilgrim Monument shows clearly that Cape Cod is a peninsula, surrounded by water on both sides.

Provincetown Museum


Whale jawbone in the Provincetown museum.


Cape Cod captains took their ships all over the world: "Going to Boston by land was less common than a voyage to China."


Pilgrims first landed on American Soil at Provincetown. They stayed here for 2 months until they sailed across the bay to Plymouth where they established the first permanent colony in North America.


Pilgrims museum


The three discoveries the pilgrims made after their landing.

Cape Cod National Seashore


Cape Cod National Seashore


Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy, and is thus protected from development (source: Wikipedia).


Thanks to its early settlement and intensive land use, Cape Cod vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As all heating was by wood, and it took 10 to 20 cords of wood to heat a home, most of Cape Cod was cleared early on. By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood came by boat from Maine. After 1860 and the opening of the west, agricultural abandonment began on the Cape so that by 1950 it had more forests than at any time since the 1700s (source: Wikipedia).


A Cape Cod house with a lobster trap on the front porch. Almost all houses on Cape Cod are colored light grey, similarly Boston is dominated by red brick houses.


A Cape Cod lighthouse. Note again the grey-colored building adjacent to the lighthouse. Grey is the preferred color for Cape Cod houses.


An Atlantic Ocean view from the hill where the lighthouse was built.


Pilgrim Monument brochure

References:
Provincetown, Mass., 36 Hours, NYTimes.

Related:
A Cape Cod Tour in Photos. Reader's Digest, 06/2008.
36 Hours in Providence, R.I. - NYTimes http://goo.gl/0RnmM

Published: 07/01/2006
Updated: 06/28/2012
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