Plymouth, Massachusetts

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Plymouth is a town in and one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It had a population of 56,468 at the 2010 census.

Plymouth is among the oldest existing municipalities in the United States. It is famous for having been founded by the Pilgrims, who landed on the site in 1620 and named both their colony and the community itself for the port in England they departed from in the Mayflower. Their role in being among the first English settlers in North America, and their holding of the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, gave the Pilgrims a prominent place in American history, and Plymouth today is a major tourist attraction.

History[edit]

• See also: Plymouth Colony

The future site of Plymouth was at one time part of the territory of the Pokanokets (also known as the Wampanoag), one of several prominent tribes in the area between Cape Cod, Massachusetts Bay, and Narragansett Bay. Not much is known about the tribe before European contact in the early 17th century. Between 1600 and 1620, a number of European explorers and fishing expeditions sailed into the region and surveyed the coastline, including Frenchman Samuel de Champlain in 1605 and English captain John Smith in 1614. From 1616 to 1619, an outbreak of disease (possibly bubonic plague) brought by some of these expeditions ravaged the Pokanokets, killing the vast majority of the tribe and leaving the survivors in a very weak position.

On December 8, 1620, the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor, after a previous stop at Provincetown Harbor on the tip of Cape Cod. The ship had sailed earlier that year from England, carrying 102 passengers: a mix of English Separatists, Protestant dissidents from the Church of England, and so-called "Strangers," non-Separatists recruited to bolster the colony the Separatists intended to establish in North America. (Both groups are commonly known as "Pilgrims" today, though the term would more accurately apply to the Separatists alone.) The original intent had been to establish a colony near the Hudson River, but stormy weather en route had driven the Mayflower farther north, and the Pilgrims chose the relative shelter of Plymouth Harbor for a settlement site instead.

The Pilgrims came ashore on December 12, and quickly set up a fortified post. During the ensuing months, the colony was battered by illness and harsh weather, and by spring, approximately half the original passengers had died. At that point, however, the Pilgrims began to recover, after several members of the Pokanoket tribe made contact with them, most notably Samoset and Squanto, and provided assistance in fishing and agriculture in the New World. Later that year, the governor of Plymouth Colony, John Carver (who died shortly afterward and was succeeded by William Bradford), signed a treaty of alliance with the Pokanoket chief, Massasoit; following the harvest in September and October, the two groups would come together for a celebratory feast, subsequently commemorated as the first Thanksgiving.^[1]

The Pilgrim colony grew only slowly over the next several decades. The community of Separatists in England was relatively small, limiting the capacity for growth through immigration; moreover, Plymouth was less suitable as a port than other points on the New England coast. It would therefore rapidly be eclipsed by Massachusetts Bay Colony after the arrival of the Puritans at Boston in 1630. Furthermore, after the 1650s relations with the Wampanoag and other nearby tribes deteriorated, and the colony would, like the rest of New England, be devastated by King Philip's War in 1675-76. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the reorganization of the English government, Plymouth Colony ceased to exist as a separate legal entity, being consolidated into Massachusetts Bay Colony. After this point, the town of Plymouth became something of a backwater for the rest of the colonial era, its livelihood mostly based on fishing and shipping. Unlike some other Massachusetts communities, it was not particularly involved in the political activities of the pre-Revolutionary period, though there was an active Sons of Liberty organization; in 1774, it seized Plymouth Rock, the boulder on the shore where the Pilgrims were believed to have landed, and put it on display in the town square.^[2]

During the late 18th and 19th century, shipbuilding became increasingly important to the Plymouth economy, with many long-distance sailing vessels constructed in or near the town. Light manufacturing appeared as well, with the Plymouth Cordage Company (a producer of rope) serving as the community's largest employer until well into the 20th century. At the same time, memory of Plymouth's early prominence in colonial history was revived; the Pilgrim Society was founded in 1820, followed in 1824 by the Pilgrim Hall Museum, the country's oldest public museum still in operation.^[3]

Some of the town's traditional livelihoods would fade away during the mid- and late 20th century. Plymouth's population and overall prosperity nonetheless surged, though, owing to the growing tourism industry and to the arrival of new residents from the Boston area and other parts of Massachusetts, attracted by its low tax rates.^[4]

Plymouth is currently preparing for "Plymouth 400," a year-long celebration and commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the town's founding and its importance to American history.^[5]

Geography[edit]

Plymouth lies on the coastline of southeastern Massachusetts, about 40 miles southeast of Boston and just northwest of the base of the Cape Cod peninsula. Plymouth Bay, which the town looks east upon, is part of the larger Cape Cod Bay. The bay includes one island, Clark's Island (named for John Clark, first mate on the Mayflower), lying just offshore from the original site of settlement.

The town is divided into several neighborhoods or districts, of which Plymouth Center is the most prominent, bordering on the harbor and including most of the historic sites. Directly to the southeast are Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth Beach, the latter an important nesting site for many species of long-range migratory birds, such as the Arctic tern. Farther south are more rural neighborhoods and a portion of Myles Standish State Forest. Aside from the bay, the most notable body of water is Great Herring Pond in the southern part of town.

Plymouth's official coordinates are 41°57’30”N 70°40’04”W. By land area, it is the largest municipality in Massachusetts, with a total of 134.0 square miles, including 37.5 square miles of water.^[6] Roughly speaking, it is divided between a low, flat coastal plain to the east and the more rugged Southern New England Upland to the west. The elevation ranges from sea level along the coast to a peak of 395 feet at Manomet Hill, about four miles southeast of the town center.^[7]

Climate

Plymouth's climate can best be described as humid continental, though moderated by the ocean; meaning it has warm summers and moderately cold winters with a fairly high amount of precipitation. The average daily temperature in January is about 29°F, compared to 72°F in July. Extremes of temperature, either above 100°F or below 0°F, are very rare; the record high is 102°F (on June 26, 1952), and the record low -19°F (on January 23, 1970).^[8]

Annual precipitation averages about 51 inches, with summers generally drier than winters. Much of this falls as snow; Plymouth receives about 34 inches of snow per year. The local record was set during the Northeastern blizzard of February 1978, with 20 inches falling in a single day.^[9]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Plymouth had a total of 56,468 inhabitants, grouped into 21,269 households, with a population density of 536.0 people per square mile. This figure represented a significant increase from the 2000 census, when Plymouth had a population of 51,701. It is the 19th-largest municipality in the state. 93.78% of the inhabitants were White, 2.03% were African-American, 0.34% were Native American, 0.91% were Asian, 0.04% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.15% were from some other race, and 1.75% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.82% of the population.

The median age in Plymouth was 41.4 years, with 22.1% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 7.2% between 18 and 24 years old, 26.4% between 25 and 44, 30.2% between 45 and 64, and 14.1% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 49.4% male, 50.6% female.^[10]

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, Plymouth had a median household income of $83,746, and a median family income of $100,295, making it among the wealthier communities in the state. The unemployment rate was 5.0%. The per capita income was $41,235. About 6.4% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 9.0% of people under the age of 18 and 4.8% of people 65 years old or older.^[10]

Government[edit]

Plymouth is organized as a town, which in Massachusetts means it has a representative town meeting (or limited town meeting) form of government. It is overseen by a town manager and a board of selectmen (somewhat analogous to a mayor or city council, except that the selectmen appoint the manager and therefore have more power over him or her). The current town manager is Melissa Arrighi. There are five selectmen, elected for three-year overlapping terms.^[11] As one of the two county seats for Plymouth County, the town also contains several institutions of county administration, including the courthouse.

In the state legislature, most of Plymouth is part of the First Plymouth District in the House of Representatives, represented by Mathew J. Muratore (R-Plymouth), a former selectman who was first elected in November 2014.^[12] The extreme northern and northwestern portions fall within the Twelfth Plymouth District, represented by Kathleen R. LaNatra (D-Kingston), while a small part of the south is in the Fifth Barnstable District, represented by Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich). In the state Senate, it is part of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, represented by Viriato M. deMacedo (R-Plymouth), first elected in November 2014.^[13] Plymouth and most of southeastern Massachusetts are part of the Ninth Massachusetts Congressional District in the House of Representatives, currently represented by William R. Keating (D-Bourne), who was first elected to the seat in November 2010.

As its roster of representatives suggest, the Plymouth area is somewhat less liberal than the state overall. Though the town has voted Democratic in presidential elections since 1992, it generally does so by a much smaller margin than the state average; in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton carried Plymouth with only 47.89% of the vote, as compared to 43.92% for Donald Trump.^[14] This is true for much of southeastern Massachusetts; the Ninth Congressional District has the smallest average margin of Democrat victory of any in the state. It has been suggested that there are cultural differences to account for this (Plymouth and the surrounding area having been settled by the Pilgrims, rather than the Puritans as in the rest of Massachusetts), but this is far from certain.

Economy[edit]

Traditionally, the local economy was based on maritime activities such as fishing, shipbuilding, and oceanic trade, supplemented by small-scale agriculture farther inland. Except for shipbuilding, these continue to be important activities, but as might be expected, tourism has by far become the main pillar of Plymouth's economy. Interest in the town's historic importance has led to the flourishing of many hotels, campgrounds, museums, tour groups, cultural centers, and other enterprises to serve out-of-towners. Apart from tourism, health care, retail trade, and education are also significant, with much employment in construction and light manufacturing as well. The largest single employer is Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, based in Boston but with a branch hospital in Plymouth.

Much of the town's retail activity is concentrated in and around Plimoth Plantation and the downtown area, where there are a number of smaller specialty shops as well as a year-round farmer's market; however, in recent years several large shopping centers have been developed in the outlying neighborhoods. These include Colony Place and Kingston Collection to the north, and The Pinehills and Wareham Crossing to the south.^[15]

Education[edit]

The Plymouth Public School District serves the entire town. It is among the largest school districts in Massachusetts, with fourteen schools and an enrollment of more than 8,000 students. These schools include the Plymouth Early Childhood Center (Pre-K); eight elementary schools, Cold Spring, Federal Furnace, Hedge, Indian Brook, Manomet, Nathaniel Morton, South, and West (all K-5); two middle schools, Plymouth Community Intermediate School and Plymouth South Middle School (both 6-8); and two high schools, Plymouth North High School and Plymouth South High School (both 9-12). Official colors and mascots vary from school to school. Plymouth North and Plymouth South are traditional rivals, and both have won state honors in a variety of academic and athletic events. In addition, the district operates an alternative school, Plymouth Harbor Academy.^[16]

Plymouth is also home to one charter school, Rising Tide Charter Public School, serving grades 5-12 with an enrollment of 660 students.

No institutions of higher education are based in Plymouth; however, Curry College (Milton) and Quincy College (Quincy) both operate branch campuses in the city.

Transportation[edit]

The major highways in the Plymouth area are U.S. Route 44, whose eastern terminus is in the town and which connects it with Providence and Hartford to the west; and State Route 3 (also known as "Pilgrims Highway"), which runs from Boston to Cape Cod. Other highways include State Routes 25 and 80.

There are several forms of public transportation accessible in Plymouth. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates a commuter rail line, called the Old Colony Line, which provides access to the Boston metropolitan area. Multiple bus lines provide service through Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties, with long-distance service to Boston and Provincetown. The town has one airfield, Plymouth Municipal Airport, near the western boundary, with regular service to Nantucket Island. The nearest sizable airport is Barnstable Municipal Airport, with flights to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Boston, and New York City.

A number of passenger boats operate in Plymouth Bay, providing harbor excursions as well as seasonal ferry service to Provincetown.

Media[edit]

As Plymouth lies within the broader media markets for both Boston and Providence, it has relatively few such institutions itself. The only radio station is WPLM, an adult contemporary station broadcasting at both 99.1 FM and 1390 AM. There is also one semi-weekly newspaper, the Old Colony Memorial, operating since 1822.

Notable Points[edit]

Most points of interest in Plymouth are connected in some way with the Pilgrims and Massachusetts colonial history, though the coastal scenery also draws many visitors. The most famous of these are Plymouth Rock, a boulder traditionally believed to be the original landing site of the Pilgrims and now protected within the Plymouth Rock Memorial; Plimoth Plantation, a non-profit museum and recreation of the original Pilgrim colony based on contemporary descriptions; and Mayflower II, a full-size replica of the original Mayflower, constructed in England in 1956 and sailed to Plymouth, where it now functions as a museum.^[17] Though not directly connected with the town's settlement, Pilgrim Hall Museum, dedicated to the founders' history, is also a major attraction.

Outside the historic district, the most popular site is Myles Standish State Forest, which has many camping and hiking opportunities. Harbor cruises and whale-watching expeditions operate in the bay for part of the year as well.

References[edit]