Town Square in Plymouth – A Walk Through History

Town Square – Located at the head of Leyden Street, Plymouth’s first street, it was the focal point for the community’s civic, religious and commercial affairs from 1620 until after World War II. It was here the Pilgrims first marched to church in the manner memorialized each Friday in August and on Thanksgiving Day by Pilgrim Progress. Their fort and meetinghouse was built on the hill overlooking the Square which later became their burial place. The civil government of Plymouth Colony, and later of the Town of Plymouth, was conducted in buildings facing the Square. Plymouth’s first public market was held here weekly on Thursdays from 1639, and the first jail was a short way down Market Street.

Burial Hill Cemetery (1622) – Burial Hill is located at the top of Town Square and to the side of the Mayflower Meetinghouse at 19 Town Square. The Plymouth Antiquarian Society invites you to explore one of Plymouth’s greatest historic treasures during a series of free themed discovery tours.  Encounter art, history, and culture in an open-air museum with local historians who share their expertise on a fascinating range of topics. Burial Hill is on the National Register of Historic Places. The first English settlers (known as “The Pilgrims”) built their first fort/meeting house here. Mayflower passengers are buried here including Governor William Bradford and William and Mary Brewster. The Plymouth Antiquarian Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum have collaborated together to offer thematic tours of Plymouth’s ancient burying ground to the public on the first Saturday of each month from February through December.

Mayflower Meetinghouse (First Parish Church 1897) – This is the fifth spiritual structure built in this location, built in 1897 to honor and memorialize the Mayflower Pilgrims. In 2014, the Meetinghouse was added to both the National Register of Historic Places and the List of Massachusetts’ Most Endangered Resources. Today the General Society of Mayflower Descendants is in the process of a complete restoration and upgrade of the Mayflower Meetinghouse which will include an immersive, multi-media museum experience.

Court House Museum (1749)– The oldest wooden courthouse in America, which served as the County Court, Registry of Deeds and Town House, is today an exhibit celebrating life in Plymouth during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is built on the site of the earlier County House from which the affairs of Plymouth Colony were managed before it became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692. The 1749 Court House is only steps away from historic Burial Hill Cemetery, The Mayflower Meetinghouse (the Pilgrims’ church), Brewster Gardens and Leyden Street. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Museum is open daily mid-June through mid-October, 10:30am-4pm.

Church of the Pilgrimage – 1637 – The first church meetinghouse erected on the north side of Town Square. 1683 – New meetinghouse erected on the west side of Town Square. 1840 – The current meeting house standing almost exactly on the site of the Pilgrim’s first meeting house.