Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth is most well known for its Pilgrim History and Plimoth Plantation which is by far Plymouth County’s most remarkable attraction. This living history museum includes Mayflower II, a reproduction of the 17th-century merchant ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620, Hobbamock’s Wampanoag Indian Homesite where visitors learn about the Native culture that was already here as well as the relationship that the Pilgrims and Native People forged. The 1627 English Village is a living, breathing village with animals, houses and most importantly, staff who role play the parts of some of the actual residents of the Plantation at that time and do it so well that many visitors are convinced that they really live there in the 21st Century.
Their indoor exhibit called “Thanksgiving; Memory, Myth and Meaning”, takes you from present Thanksgiving celebrations peeling back layers of history to reveal the harvest feast in 1621 that was the holiday’s seed. The event is presented from both the Pilgrim and the Native point of view. The Plantation is open 9-5, 7 days a week, from late March through November.
Learn About America’s Hometown: Pilgrim Hall Museum
Other very important and impressive ways to learn more about “America’s Hometown” are in Plymouth’s attic, otherwise known as Pilgrim Hall Museum the oldest museum continuously open to the public in America where many of the original artifacts owned by the Pilgrims now reside. This museum has just completed an $11 million expansion and renovation and will feature “Portraits of Thanksgiving as its new exhibition in the fall.
Historical Attractions in Plymouth: from Boston to Cape Cod
Many of the other area historical attractions in the county include: The Hull Lifesaving Museum and the Irish Mossing Museum in Scituate and a number of smaller historic homes that dot the landscape of Plymouth County from Boston to Cape Cod. These now make up the “Back Roads of the South Shore.
Although Salem is known for its haunted happenings, Plymouth too offers Dead of Night Ghost Tours and Colonial Lantern Tours to put you in the “spirit” of all Old New England.
Activities & Events in Plymouth County, Massachusetts
The scenic beauty of the County is unsurpassed. From quaint coastal New England towns with the added bonus of 6 lighthouses from Hull to Mattapoisett as well as numerous State and local parklands for hiking, boating, cycling, fishing, picnicking, or just ambling along. A gristmills and paddle wheel boats, whale watches and Cape Cod Canal, Lobster Tales or Pirate Adventure cruises. Tours of cranberry harvesting in the fall or helicopter flights over Cape Cod.
The big events that are singular to our area are the Massachusetts Cranberry Harvest Festival over Columbus Day weekend where visitors get to view the spectacle that is the harvesting of these bright red berries and the Thanksgiving Parade and Drum & Bugle Corps competitions that take place the weekend before Thanksgiving. Also the Christmas Festival of Lights at Edaville USA where a ride on a narrow-gauge train in the rural town of Carver takes riders through a light display that has been drawing generations of families since the 1940s, true Americana at its best.
Accommodations in New England Towns through Plymouth and Cape Cod
Our lodgings run the gamut from well-known chains like Best Western, Radisson and Comfort Inn to family-owned B&Bs with names like Mayflower, Remembrance and Oceanside. And when it comes to dining, you can eat in a tavern built in 1634, dine with the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation or enjoy a harbor side meal as you watch the fishing boats bring in today’s catch.
Getaway to Plymouth County this Summer
There are many other wonderful discoveries for guests in Plymouth County to encounter, like Pilgrim Progress, where 52 people reenact the walk to church of the surviving Pilgrims from that first devastating winter. There’s also the overlooked but much treasured Forefather’s Monument, Plymouth’s own Statue of Liberty that stands high up on a hill welcoming new arrivals to America’s Hometown.
Finally, there’s the quiet, unhurried atmosphere of Plymouth County in the winter when crowds are unheard of and hearths are fired and ready to welcome those who know the value of an off-season getaway.
Until then, for more information, please visit: www.SeePlymouth.com