This hill, which was the first burial-place of the Pilgrims, commands a line view of the harbor and bay, while Manomet Hills are seen in the distance. During the first sad winter nearly half the little band of pilgrims died, and wen- buried here. Their graves were leveled, and in the spring corn was planted, to conceal from the Indians the great loss which had been sustained.
This granite rock, which first received the feet of the Pilgrims after their perilous ocean voyage, having become an object of veneration throughout the civilized world, a short account of it may not be out of place.
The rock remained undisturbed upon the shore, until 1741, when a proposition was made to build a wharf on or near it. Elder Thomas Faunce, then living several miles from the village, hearing of the plan, and fearing injury to this cherished memorial of the fathers, came to the village to urge upon the younger generation the importance of preserving this precious stepping-stone to a new world. He was at that time at the advanced age of ninetv-four, and was the last Killing Elder of the Plymonth Church. The wishes of the aged elder were heeded, and the rock was not disturbed till 1774. During that year, while attempts were being made to raise it from its bed a portion of the rock was separated from the main part, and some patriotic young men caused the upper part to be removed to Town Square. It was drawn there by twenty yoke of oxen and placed near a Liberty Pole, from which waved a flag bearing the motto "Liberty or Death.''
In 1834 it was found needful to remove it again, to prevent it from being carried away in pieces by strangers who came to see it and desired to have a specimen. It was then placed in front of Pilgrim Hall and enclosed in an iron railing, where it remained till 1880, when, at the suggestion of Mr. Stickney, it was restored to its proper position and united with the part remaining under the Monumental Canopy at the Landing Place.
This street was originally called First Street, because it was the spot on which the Pilgrims built their first dwelling, which was called the " Common House."
Plymouth Town Square.
In the town square, the Pilgrims erected their first house for public worship, and very nearly the same site is still occupied by a church. One of the large elm trees in the square is called the town tree, and in former times it was the principal place for posting notices, and is still used as an advertising medium. The finder of any small article in the street was expected to fasten it upon the trunk of this tree, and the loser confidently looked there for it. This custom is continued to some extent at the present time, and one occasionally sees an odd glove hanging from the tree.
This memorial hall to the Pilgrims was built by the Pilgrim Society in 1824. It was rebuilt and made fire-proof in 1880 by the generosity of Joseph Henry Stickney, of Baltimore, Md. The hall contains many valuable relics and mementos of the Pilgrims.
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