Primary Sources of Colonial America Plymouth and the Settlement of New England Budd Bailey
INTRODUCTION Written in Stone A discussion about one of the most famous settlements on North American shores starts oddly enough with a rock A ninety-four-year-old man in Plymouth named Thomas Faunce claimed in 1741 that his father who arrived in Plymouth in 1623 had been told that the Mayflower’s passengers first stepped on the rock when they originally came to that area There was no proof of that but perhaps just in case Plymouth Rock has become part of American history Small pieces were shipped to other towns across America and used as museum pieces Souvenir hunters took other bits The remaining portion of the rock sits on the Plymouth coastline in a display that keeps the remaining piece about 10 tons 9,072 kilograms worth intact We’ve been fascinated with it for centuries About one million people per year come to see it Plymouth Rock on the shore of Cape Cod Bay is one of the most famous landmarks in American history Written in Stone 5
