Part 2

The next case contains numerous valuable books and literary works of ancient date, the most precious being a copy of John Eliot’s Indian bible 1685, of which but four copies are now known to be extant. A Dutch bible and a “Breeches” bible 1599, an Indian vocabulary by Josiah Cotton, New England’s Memorial by Nathaniel Morton, and the original records of the Old Colony Club from 1769 to 1773, are also interesting.

The Winslow Case at the right of the Library entrance displays many belongings of that illustrious family, notably, a part of a chest, a mortar and pewter plate, brought by Edward Winslow in the Mayflower, a gold ring and ancient trencher which belonged to Governor Edward Winslow, General John Winslow’s sword, a dressing case once owned by Penelope, wife of Governor Josiah Winslow, and bead purse wrought by that gentle lady, a pair of stiff little shoes worn by Governor Josiah Winslow when an infant, a slipper and cape once owned by Mrs. Susannah White, widow of William White, and second wife of Governor Edward Winslow, and other articles which the catalogues will identify.

The case at the left of the Library contains many papers and documents of much interest, but of especial note are swords of Gov. John Carver, Elder William Brewster and Capt. Myles Standish, loaned by the Massachusetts Historical Society. A novel reminder of the days of slavery in Massachusetts is a bill of sale of a negro boy in Plymouth in 1753.

The next case has valuable autographs, note books, and a service of ancient silver tankards and goblets not now in use, but belonging to the First Church of Christ in Plymouth. There are also the first volume of the ancient records of the First Church in Plymouth, and the works of Pastor John Robinson, of Leyden.

The north ante-room is worthy attention of visitors, and contains, with other things, an old sofa formerly owned by Gov. Hancock, upon which he probably sat and plotted treason with Samuel Adams against the English crown. There are pictures of Plymouth, England, and other places in that country, of Pilgrim interest, together with various commissions, etchings, views, etc; and a case containing seven swords of notable personages, which are described in the catalogues.

A fire-proof annex for the valuable library of the Pilgrim Society was built on the northerly side of the hall in 1904, and on the steel shelves behind substantial metal lattices, found necessary to protect the books from persons of predatory inclinations, some 3000 volumes are arranged in handsome cabinets. Some of these books are very rare indeed, and if lost or destroyed could not be replaced. The oldest volume bears the imprint 1559.

Above the bookcases are portraits; among them those of Hon. Joshua Thomas, the first president of the Pilgrim Society; Hon. John Davis, editor of Morton’s New England Memorial, and former president of the Massachusetts Historical Society; and Ephraim Spooner, who was for thirty-four years deacon of the First Church, in Plymouth, and a very prominent citizen of the town. He was chairman of the Selectmen through the Revolutionary War, in which capacity he rendered the country efficient service, and was likewise for fifty-one years town clerk of Plymouth. A very quaint painting is the portrait of Elizabeth Wensley, hanging over the fireplace. She was daughter of William Paddy, and was born in Plymouth 1641. Her daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Dr. Isaac Winslow, whose portrait appears in the Winslow group in the main hall. The great centre table in the library was owned by Gov. Edward Winslow, and stood in the Council Chamber when he governed the Colony. On top of one of the book cases is a model of a ship of the “Mayflower” period, illustrative of the naval architecture and rig of her time.

One of the cases at the foot of the Hall between the ante-rooms holds the gun barrel with which King Philip was killed, also the original manuscript of Mrs. Felicia Hemans’ celebrated ode, “The breaking waves dashed high,” and William Cullen Bryant’s poem, “Wild was the day, the wintry sea,” both presented by the late James T. Fields of Boston. A piece of a mulberry tree, planted in the garden of the Manor house at Scrooby by Cardinal Wolsey, and the trowel used in laying the corner stone of the National Monument to the Pilgrims, August 2, 1859, are seen in this case among other articles. In the other there is a book given to Gov. Bradford by Pastor John Robinson, brought over in the “Mayflower” by Bradford and afterwards given by him to the church. A book printed by Elder Brewster and a copy of Seneca’s works owned by Brewster likewise find place in this case, together with a copy of the first edition of “Mourt’s Relation,” written in Plymouth in 1621 and published in London in 1622.

A special case at the head of the Hall contains the oldest state document in New England, and probably in the United States. This is the first patent granted to the Plymouth Colonists by the Northern Virginia Company. A patent was granted by the Virginia Company in the name of John Wincob, but never used. About the time of the departure of the Forefathers from England for this country a new company was created by a royal charter, within the limits of which Plymouth was included, and this patent dated June 1, 1621 was granted to John Pierce by the Northern Virginia Company and sent over in the “Fortune,” arriving here in November of that year. This patent was found in the land office in Boston, among a mass of old papers, by William Smith, Esq., one of the land committee. The Hon. John Davis, then editing a new edition of Morton’s New England Memorials, obtained it for his use in that book, and from him it came into the possession of the late Nathaniel Morton Davis, Esq., in whose family it remained until deposited in the hall by Mrs. William H. Whitman. It bears the seals and signatures of the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl of Warwick, Lord Sheffield, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, with the exception that the seal of Hamilton is missing. A sixth signature, probably that of John Peirce, the party of the second part, is broken out of the parchment, leaving but a trace of the letter J. The seal to this signature is also torn away.

From the curator’s office a flight of stairs conducts to the basement, where all desired conveniences for visitors will be found. In the lower hall is an interesting museum of articles which have been separated from the Pilgrim collection, and as pertaining to ancient days in many instances or as curiosities will well repay examination. Among them is the frame of the “Sparrowhawk,” wrecked on Cape Cod, at Orleans, in 1626, her company finding refuge and assistance at Plymouth. Her history is remarkable, as being the first known vessel stranded on the Cape, which since that time has been the grave yard of fully 2,000 sea-going craft, with a loss of hundreds of lives. A large placard attached to the old wreck gives the story. To see these remains of a vessel as old as the Mayflower, though much smaller, is very suggestive of the perils of an ocean passage in the days of the Pilgrims.

The bones of the Indian Chief Iyanough are preserved in a special case in the lower hall, together with a large brass kettle and other implements found with the skeleton which was discovered at Hyannis in Barnstable in May, 1861.

The Court House

“Though justice be thy plea, consider this,— That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation.”

At our right hand, soon after leaving Pilgrim Hall, we see a large building with a handsome brick facade, standing a little back from the street, and fronted by a small park. This is the County Court House, erected in 1820, and remodeled in 1857. It is one of the finest buildings of the kind in the State, and the judges of the different courts give it precedence in point of beauty, convenience, etc., over all they visit. It has two entrances. The northerly one leads to a marble corridor, from which is the stairway to the large court room above, admittance to witness rooms and the Third District Court. The southerly entrance is to a corridor paved with Vermont marble, and from which leads a flight of stairs for the court, the bar, officers and jurymen, main court room, district attorney’s office, and grand jury room. On the left, below, is the room of the Clerk of Courts, with the room of the County Treasurer opposite; beyond are rooms for various uses together with that of the County Commissioners, and the Law Library. The Library opens from the Commissioner’s room, and also connects by a stairway with the upper corridor.

The New Registry Building

Opposite the Court House, on Russell street, in 1904, the County erected a very fine and conveniently appointed fireproof building for the Probate Court and Registry of Deeds. The latter is on the lower floor, with a large hall for the records and necessary desks and tables to facilitate the examination of the books. There are also commodious rooms for the Register and his assistants and the corps of recorders.

In the Registry of Deeds are the earliest records of Plymouth Colony, in the handwriting of the men who are now held in reverence the world over for their courage in braving the perils of an unknown sea and an equally unknown shore, to face the dangers of savage men and savage beasts, in their constancy to what they believed to be their duty, and for planting on this spot the great principles of a government by the people,—

“A church without a bishop, A state without a king.”

Here is their writing, some of it quaint and crabbed, some fair and legible. Here, on these very pages, rested the hands fresh from handling the sword and the musket or the peaceful implements of husbandry, of Bradford and Brewster and Standish and others of that heroic band. Here is the original laying-out of the first street,—Leyden street. Here is the plan of the plots of ground first assigned for yearly use, which they called, in the tinge of the Dutch tongue they had acquired in their long residence in Holland, “meersteads.” Here are the simple and yet wise rules—laws they can hardly be called—laid down for the government of the infant colony.

Here is the order establishing jury trial in Governor Bradford’s writing, the order for the first custom laws, the division of cattle into lots, one cow being divided into thirteen lots. It was four years after the Landing before any domestic cattle were brought over, and in order to equalize them they were divided into lots, each family having one. It must have been a pretty nice affair to divide the milk of one cow among thirteen parties, to satisfy all.

Here also is the second patent to the company from the Earl of Warwick, granted in 1629, with its great wax seal engraved for the purpose, and the original box in which it came from England. Here are signatures, also, of nearly as much interest as those of the Pilgrims themselves,—the marks of the original proprietors of all these broad fields and forests, whose names are represented by signs of bows and tortoises, of reptiles and animals.

Here are also ancient deeds written in the Indian language, as put in form by Eliot and Mayo. The record clerk must have had his patience severely taxed when they were copied.

The Registry of Probate is on the second floor, where with the several offices there is a beautiful court room for the Probate sessions. The filing and registry room is a model for convenience in safe keeping and reference to papers concerning estates.

Opposite Court Square is the Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, a fine building erected in 1885-86, which is an ornamental and prominent feature of the locality.

The building at the right of the church is the Old Colony Club, instituted in 1769. Next beyond is Russell Building, in which is located the Pilgrim Bookstore, where will be found a large and varied collection of souvenirs, views of interesting localities, books of Pilgrim story and history, post cards and mementos of a visit to “Pilgrim Land.”

The Prison

“I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs— A palace and a prison on each hand.”

In the rear of the Court House stands the former County Prison, a substantial brick building, with granite trimmings. It is now used for temporary detention of prisoners at trial, and by agreement with the Commissioners the town of Plymouth leases a portion of the building for a police station.

In May, 1908, the County purchased a large farm at the south part of the town, and erected suitable buildings of cement concrete, and prisoners convicted of minor offences are there kept at work with the design of making the penal institution self-supporting, as well as contributing to the health and general welfare of offenders detained for short terms. The new prison is light, commodious and airy, and has 140 cells for men, and 12 for women. The number of prisoners averages about 120, about half of them being “trusties,” who perform the farm labor cheerfully, with but little oversight other than that necessary for direction. The prisoners were transferred from the old jail in the middle of July, 1911. Sheriff Earl P. Blake rules humanely but firmly, and is as popular with his criminal household as he is throughout the county. This rational employment of prison labor for self support, is working splendidly, and the farm, the first of the kind in this country to be established on such a basis, is visited with much interest by officials connected with the criminal institutions of this and other states for the purpose of learning the methods of administration.

The Rock

“A rock in the wilderness welcomed our sires From bondage far over the dark rolling sea; On that holy altar they kindled the fires, Jehovah, which glow in our bosoms for thee.”

Continuing our way along Court Street a little farther, we come to North Street, at which point the name of the main thoroughfare changes to Main Street, the business section of the town. Turning down North Street, leading to the water, in a little distance we come to the brow of the hill. On the left, Winslow Street winds northward, and on it we see an old mansion, partially hidden by two noble old linden trees. This house was built by Edward Winslow, brother to Gen. John Winslow in 1754. He had the frame got out in England and brought over for this purpose. The trees in front were planted by his daughter about 1760. Additions were made to the house in 1898, which is now owned and occupied by Mrs. C. L. Willoughby.

Descending the hill to the harbor front at our right a short distance we see a beautiful and artistic structure of granite in the shape of a canopy, supported on four columns, and under this is the Rock, now world-famous. (At this writing in 1919, the comprehensive plans of the Tercentenary Commission contemplate displacing commercial structures and improving the harbor front in the vicinage of the Rock.) The upper portion of the renowned boulder, nearly all of that which is now in sight, was for one hundred and six years separated from the original Rock, and during this long period occupied localities remote from the Landing-place. In 1774, during the series of events leading to the Revolution, an attempt to raise the Rock for transportation to Town Square disclosed the fact that the upper portion had become separated from the lower, probably through action of frost. It was taken to the Square where it was deposited at the foot of a liberty pole from which waved a flag bearing the motto, “Liberty or death.”

It remained there until 1834, when at a celebration of the Fourth of July it was carried in procession to Pilgrim Hall, deposited in the front area, and inclosed by an iron fence. Here the separated part of the Rock remained forty-six years, its incongruous position away from the water not being understood by visitors without lengthy explanation. Mr. Stickney, the gentleman by whose liberality the alterations in Pilgrim Hall were being made in the summer of 1880, recognized the impropriety of this condition, and proposed reuniting the parts at the original Landing-place. The Pilgrim Society readily acceded to this proposition, and accordingly on Monday, Sept. 27, 1880, without ceremony, this part of the Rock was placed beneath the Monumental Canopy at the waterside, the reunited pieces, after a separation of one hundred and six years, probably now presenting much the same appearance as when the Pilgrim shallop grazed its side. As to the identity of this Rock, and the certainty of its being the very one consecrated by the first touch of Pilgrim feet on this shore, there is not the slightest loophole for a doubt. Ancient records, now accessible, refer to it as an object of prominence on the shore, before the building of the wharf about it in the year 1741. Thomas Faunce, the elder of the church, who was born in 1647 and died in 1746, at the age of 99, was the son of John Faunce, who came over in the “Ann” in 1623. At the age of ninety-five years hearing that the Rock, which from youth he had venerated was to be disturbed, he visited the locality, related the history of the Rock as told him by his father and contemporary Pilgrims, and in the presence of many witnesses declared it to be that upon which the Forefathers landed in 1620. Thus it has been pointed out and identified from one generation to another, and from the days of the first comers to the present time. Not a shadow of distrust rests upon it as being the identical spot where the first landing was effected on the shore of Plymouth.

About a century and three-fourths have elapsed since Elder Faunce gave his personal testimony, and the lives of two or three elderly people cover that period, so the evidence is of positive rather than traditional character.

The Rock was originally a solid boulder of about seven tons, and undoubtedly a glacial deposit. It is greenish syenite, very hard, and bears high polish when its fragments are worked for various purposes.

The Landing

Let us picture to ourselves the scene on that Monday morning, when, after the rest on Clark’s Island they came in their shallop to inspect the new country that they had providentially found. The wharves and buildings and every trace of civilization vanish. All is wild and unknown. Across the harbor comes the boat and every eye anxiously and keenly scanning the strange shore to discover the presence of human beings, who will be sure to be enemies. They coast along the shore by cliff and lowland, hand on weapon, every sense alert for the expected warwhoop and attack, a steep and sandy cliff, (Cole’s Hill) the base of which is washed by the water meets their eyes; at its foot a great boulder, brought from some far-away coast by a glacier, in some long-gone age. Oval in form, with a flat top, it seems the very place to bring the great clumsy boat up to, as from its crest they can spring to the shore, dry-shod, a matter which, after their previous wading in the ice-cold water at the Cape, is of no small moment. The shallop is steered to its side; the company steps upon the Rock, and the Landing of the Forefathers, now so reverently commemorated, is completed. Look along the shore at this day, north or south, and you may see cliffs as Cole’s Hill was then, with the mouth of Town Brook near by the Rock, which later made a safe little harbor for their boats in the rear of the dwellings which they erected on the south side of Leyden Street. Divested of romance thrown around it by time, it should be remembered that the “Landing,” Dec. 21, 1620, was that of the exploring party which had coasted around the bay, the “Mayflower” then being in Cape Cod Harbor.

This party was made up of “ten of their principal men,” according to Bradford, whose names, as given in “Mourt’s Relation,” were Captain Standish, Governor Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, from Leyden; with Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Dotey from London, and also two of the Pilgrim’s seamen, John Allerton and Thomas English. In addition to these, Captain Jones of the “Mayflower” sent three of his seamen, with his two mates and pilots named Clarke and Coppin. The master gunner of the ship by importunity also got leave to accompany them. Thus the shallop contained eighteen men, twelve of the “Mayflower” company and six of Jones’ men.

According to “Mourt’s Relation,” the exploring party, having landed from the Rock, “marched also into the land and found divers cornfields and little running brooks, a place very good for situation. So we returned to our Ship again with good news to the rest of the people, which did much comfort their hearts.”

The “Mayflower” weighs her anchor, Dec. 26, 1620, and spreading sail moves across the bay. Feeling carefully their way, they pass the Gurnet and navigate along the channel inside the beach, until in the wide bend towards the town just above the present Beach wharf, as is believed by those who have studied the situation, the anchor is dropped, not to be again disturbed until the following spring. But the location is not yet settled. Some, with the alarm of the recent encounters vividly impressed upon them, think the Island, surrounded by water and easily defended, would be a good place. Jones river, sending its unimpeded waters to meet the waves of the bay, attracts the attention of others. “So in the morning, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolution, to go presently ashore again, and to take a better view of two places which we thought most fitting for us; for we could not now take time for further search or consideration, our vituals being much spent, especially our beer, and it being now the 19th of December (old style). After our landing and visiting the places, so well as we could, we came to a conclusion, by most voices, to set on a high ground, where there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn three or four years ago; and there is a very sweet brook runs under the hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as can be drunk, and where we may harbor our shallops and boats exceedingly well; and in this brook fish in their season; on the further side of the river also much corn ground cleared. In one field is a great hill on which we point to make a platform, and plant our ordance, which will command all around about. From thence we may see into the bay, and far into the sea; and we may see thence Cape Cod. Our greatest labor will be the fetching of our wood, which is half a quarter of an English mile; but there is enough so far off. What people inhabit here we yet know not, for as yet we have seen none. So there we made our rendezvous, and a place for some of our people, about twenty, resolving in the morning to come all ashore and to build houses.”

Cole’s Hill

“Not Winter’s sullen face, Not the fierce, tawny race In arms arrayed, Not hunger shook their faith; Not sickness’ baleful breath, Not Carver’s early death, Their souls dismayed.”