Plymouth (Massachusetts)

Plymouth (Massachusetts), town, seat of Plymouth County, southeastern Massachusetts, on Plymouth Bay; founded 1620. The town has industries producing metal items, textiles, cordage, and processed food. Plymouth also is a fishing center and has summer-resort facilities, but its main focus is as a tourist spot, the site of the famous landing (1620) of the Pilgrims, who founded here the first permanent European settlement in New England. Among the many attractions are Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims' legendary landing spot; Burial Hill cemetery, which contains the graves of several of the Pilgrims; and many preserved and restored 17th-century homes. Also of great interest are Plimoth Plantation, containing a re-creation of the Pilgrim village as it was in 1627 and the Mayflower II, a full-scale replica of a boat similar to the Pilgrims' Mayflower; Pilgrim Hall, a museum featuring a fine collection of Pilgrim artifacts; the Plymouth National Wax Museum, noted for its historical tableaux; The Mayflower Experience, a museum containing a multimedia depiction of the Pilgrims' ocean voyage; and the 25-m (81-ft) high National Monument to the Forefathers (1889), a granite memorial known also as the Pilgrim Monument. Also notable are the Jenney Gristmill (a reconstructed water mill) and the Cranberry World Visitor's Center (with exhibitions on cranberry cultivation).

Plymouth was founded in December 1620 by the Pilgrims, who selected the site after an exploratory voyage along Cape Cod from what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. They named the community for their point of departure, Plymouth, England. The community was recognized as the seat of Plymouth Colony in 1633 and became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Population 51,701 (2000); 54,923 (2005 estimate).