Visiting Plymouth

This photo shows Evan and Arthur M. Richardson sitting atop Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The rock seen today is estimated to be less than half of its original size due to centuries of accidents, moves, and souvenir hunting. In 1774, local patriots tried to haul the boulder to the town square to set up a "Liberty Pole." During the attempt, the rock split horizontally in two. The split was interpreted by Revolutionary colonists as an omen that America would break free from Great Britain. The bottom half remained embedded in the shoreline wharf for over a century, where tourists and townspeople chipped away chunks to keep as relics. Pieces of Plymouth Rock are now in museum collections nationwide, including the Smithsonian Institution. In 1834, while moving the top portion to the Pilgrim Hall Museum, it fell off a cart and cracked again.

In 1880, the top portion was finally brought back to the shore and cemented to the base. At that time, the date "1620" was officially carved into its face, replacing older painted numbers. In 1921, for the 300th anniversary of the landing, a massive classical Roman Doric portico was built around it by the famed architectural firm McKim, Mead & White.

Today, Plymouth Rock sits inside a portico at Pilgrim Memorial State Park on the Plymouth waterfront, where over a million visitors view it every year. Public access is restricted to protect the monument.