Plymouth ( PLIM-əth; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as "America's Hometown". Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Mayflower Pilgrims, where New England was first established. It is the oldest municipality in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. The town has served as the location of several prominent events, one of the more notable being the First Thanksgiving feast. Plymouth served as the capital of Plymouth Colony from its founding in 1620 until the colony's merger with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. The English explorer John Smith named the area Plymouth (after the city in South West England) and the region 'New England' during his voyage of 1614 (the accompanying map was published in 1616). It was a later coincidence that, after an aborted attempt to make the 1620 trans-Atlantic crossing from Southampton, the Mayflower finally set sail for America from Plymouth, England.
Plymouth is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Boston in a region known as the South Shore. Throughout the 19th century, the town thrived as a center of rope making, fishing, and shipping, and was home to the Plymouth Cordage Company, formerly the world's largest rope making company. It continues to be an active port, but today its major industry is healthcare and social services. The town is served by Plymouth Municipal Airport and contains the Pilgrim Hall Museum, the oldest continually operating museum in the United States. It is the largest municipality in Massachusetts by area, and the largest in southern New England. The population was 61,217 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is one of two seats of Plymouth County, the other being Brockton.
History
Pre-colonial era
Prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims, the location of Plymouth was a village of the Wampanoag tribe called Patuxet. The region was visited twice by European explorers prior to the establishment of Plymouth Colony. In 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed to Plymouth Harbor, calling it Port St. Louis. Captain John Smith was a leader of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and he explored parts of Cape Cod Bay and is credited with naming the region "New Plimouth."
Two plagues afflicted coastal New England in 1614 and 1617, killing between 90% and 95% of the local Wampanoag inhabitants. The near destruction of the tribe from disease resulted in their cornfields and cleared areas being vacant for the Pilgrims to occupy.
Colonial era
Plymouth played a very important role in American colonial history. It was the final landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower and the location of the original settlement of Plymouth Colony. Plymouth was established in December 1620 by separatist Puritans who had broken away from the Church of England, believing that the Church had not completed the work of the Protestant Reformation. Today, these settlers are better known as the "Pilgrims", a term coined by William Bradford.
The Mayflower first anchored in the harbor of Provincetown, Massachusetts on November 11, 1620. The ship was headed for the mouth of the Hudson River (which was in the notional territory of the Colony of Virginia at the time, before the establishment of New Amsterdam) but it did not go beyond Cape Cod. The Pilgrim settlers realized that they did not have a patent to settle in the region, so they signed the Mayflower Compact prior to disembarking. They explored various parts of Cape Cod and eventually sought a suitable location for a permanent settlement to the westward in Cape Cod Bay. They discovered the sheltered waters of Plymouth Harbor on December 17. From the protected bay they found a site for the new settlement after three days of surveying.
The settlers officially disembarked on December 21, 1620. It is traditionally said that the Pilgrims first set foot in America at the site of Plymouth Rock, though no historical evidence exists in support of this claim.
First winter
The Plymouth colony faced many difficulties during its first winter, the most notable being the risk of starvation and the lack of suitable shelter. From the beginning, the colonists depended on the assistance of Native Americans. One colonist's journal reports:
We marched to the place we called Cornhill, where we had found the corn before. At another place we had seen before, we dug and found some more corn, two or three baskets full, and a bag of beans. ... In all we had about ten bushels, which will be enough for seed. It is with God's help that we found this corn, for how else could we have done it, without meeting some Indians who might trouble us.
During their earlier exploration of the Cape, the Pilgrims had come upon a Native American burial site containing corn, and they had taken the corn for future planting. On another occasion, they found an unoccupied house and took corn and beans, for which they repaid the occupants about six months later.
Even greater assistance came from Samoset and Tisquantum (known as Squanto by the Pilgrims), a Native American sent by Wampanoag Chief Massasoit as an ambassador and technical adviser. Squanto had been kidnapped in 1614 by a colonist and sold into slavery in Málaga, Spain. With the help of another colonist, he escaped slavery, and returned home in 1619. He taught the colonists how to farm corn, where and how to catch fish, and other helpful skills for the New World. He also was instrumental in the survival of the settlement for the first two years.
Squanto and Hobomok, another guide sent by Massasoit in 1621, helped the colonists set up trading posts for furs. Chief Massasoit later formed a Peace Treaty with the Pilgrims. Upon growing a plentiful harvest in the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims gathered with Squanto, Samoset, Massasoit, and ninety other Wampanoag men in a celebration of thanksgiving to God for their plentiful harvest. This celebration is known today as the First Thanksgiving. It is commemorated annually in downtown Plymouth with a parade and a reenactment. Since 1941, the United States has observed Thanksgiving as a federal holiday.
Plymouth served as the capital of Plymouth Colony (which consisted of modern-day Barnstable, Bristol, and Plymouth counties) from its founding in 1620 until 1691, when the colony was merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Plymouth holds the distinction of being the first permanent European settlement in New England, and one of the oldest European settlements in what is now the United States.
Revolutionary War
During the Revolutionary War, the Plymouth County militia was led by Colonel Theophilus Cotton of Plymouth. News reached Plymouth of the Battles of Concord and Lexington, and Cotton gathered his soldiers and marched on the town of Marshfield. A small British barracks had been established there on the estate of Nathaniel Ray Thomas, known today as the Daniel Webster Estate. Cotton's forces surrounded the British troops, but Cotton determined not to fire, allowing the British to escape by water down the Green Harbor River and back to the security of the British forces occupying Boston.
19th century
In the 1800s, Plymouth remained a relatively isolated seacoast town whose livelihood depended on fishing and shipping. The town eventually became a regional center of shipbuilding and fishing. Its principal industry was the Plymouth Cordage Company, founded in 1824, which became the world's largest manufacturer of rope and cordage products. At one point, the longest ropewalk in the world was found on the Cordage Company's site on the North Plymouth waterfront, a quarter-mile (0.4 km) in length. The company thrived into the 1960s, but was forced out of business in 1964 due to competition from synthetic-fiber ropes. The factory has been renovated for use as numerous offices, restaurants, and stores, and is known as Cordage Commerce Center.
Modern history
Plymouth has enjoyed rapid growth and development since the late twentieth century. It became more accessible to Boston in the early 1970s with improved railroads, highways, and bus routes, and the town's inexpensive land costs and low tax rates were factors in attracting thousands of new residents. Its population grew from 18,606 residents in 1970 to 45,608 residents in 1990, a 145% increase in 20 years. Plymouth has surpassed several Massachusetts cities in population, but it is still officially regarded as a town and continues to be governed by a board of selectmen rather than a mayor.
Plymouth spans several exits on the town's primary highway Massachusetts Route 3. Additional access is possible via an extension to U.S. Route 44.
Geography
The latitude of Plymouth is 41.95833 and its longitude is −70.66778. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 134.0 sq mi (347 km2), of which 96.5 sq mi (250 km2) is land, and 37.5 sq mi (97 km2) (28%) is water.
With the largest land area of any municipality in Massachusetts, Plymouth consists of several neighborhoods and geographical sections. Larger localities in the town include Plymouth Center, North, West and South Plymouth, Manomet, and Cedarville.
Plymouth makes up the entire western shore of Cape Cod Bay. It is bordered on land by Bourne to the southeast, Wareham to the southwest, Carver to the west, and Kingston to the north. It also shares a small border with Duxbury at the land entrance of Saquish Neck. Plymouth's border with Bourne makes up most of the line between Plymouth and Barnstable counties. The town is located roughly 44 miles (71 km) southeast of Boston (it is almost exactly 40 miles (64 km) from Plymouth Rock to the Massachusetts State House) and equidistantly east of Providence, Rhode Island.
Located in the Plymouth Pinelands, the town of Plymouth has many distinct geographical features. The town's Atlantic coast is characterized by low plains, while its western sections are extremely hilly and forested. Plymouth contains several small ponds scattered throughout its western quadrant, the largest being the Great Herring Pond (which is partly in the town of Bourne). A major feature of the town is the Myles Standish State Forest, which is in the southwestern region. Cachalot Scout Reservation, operated by the Cachalot District of the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, lies adjacent to the state forest lands. There is also a smaller town forest, as well as several parks, recreation areas and beaches.
Plymouth has nine public beaches, the largest being Plymouth Beach. Plymouth Beach guards Plymouth Harbor and consists mostly of a three-mile (5 km) long, ecologically significant barrier beach. Clark's Island, a small island in Plymouth Bay, is the only island in Plymouth. It is off the coast of Saquish Neck and has nine summer houses but no year-round inhabitants.
Climate
Plymouth has a hot summer humid continental climate (Dfa) which is the predominant climate for Massachusetts. Due to its location on the Atlantic Ocean, humidity levels can be very high year-round. Plymouth's coastal location causes it to experience warmer temperatures than many inland locations in New England. Summers are typically hot and humid, while winters are cold, windy and often snowy.
Plymouth's warmest month is July, with an average high temperature of 84.0 °F (28.9 °C) and an average low of 64.1 °F (17.8 °C). The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of 41.0 °F (5.0 °C) and an average low of 21.8 °F (−5.7 °C).
Much like the rest of the Northeastern seaboard, Plymouth receives ample amounts of precipitation year-round. On average, summer months receive slightly less precipitation than winter months. Plymouth averages about 52.8 inches (1,340 mm) of precipitation a year. Plymonth gets the most snowfall in February, with 29 centimetres (11.4 in). Plymouth, like other coastal Massachusetts towns, is very vulnerable to Nor'easter weather systems. The town is sometimes vulnerable to Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms, which infrequently threaten the Cape Cod region during the early autumn months.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 56,468 people, 21,269 households, and 14,742 families residing in the town; by population it was the largest town in Massachusetts. It was also the 21st–largest municipality in the state. The population density was 536.0 inhabitants per square mile (207.0/km2). There were 21,250 housing units, at an average density of 85.1/km2 (220/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 94% White, 1.8% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 2% of the population.
There were 21,269 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town, 24.3% of the population was under the age of 20, 10.7% was from 20 to 29, 28.8% from 30 to 49, 22.2% from 50 to 64, and 14.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years.