Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth Rock)

"Lastly, (and which was not least), a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation..." --Gov. William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation, 1647Plimoth (Plymouth) Plantation was the first permanent European settlement in southern New England. "America's Hometown" of Plymouth is on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay, forty miles south of Boston. Today, this area commemorates the landing of 102 Pilgrims in December 1620 with a living museum, dedicated to recreating 17th - century lifeways in the New World, a replica of their vessel, the Mayflower and the symbolic Plymouth Rock.Plymouth Rock is housed in a small temple by the sea. The Rock is of symbolic importance only as the pilgrims had been on Cape Cod already for two months - yet the memorial holds it's history by being the symbol of freedom and discovery.Plimoth Plantation includes several exhibits: A reconstruction of the 1627 village occupied by the Pilgrims A reconstruction of Hobbamock's Homesite. The Nye BarnAll components are interpretive exhibits illustrating many aspects of life. People in historic period costumes carry out their daily tasks which would have been conducted by the occupants of the settlement. Their dialect is recreates the flavor of the period as well. Recently the Plimoth Plantation has expanded their exhibits by adding the Nye Barn to provide visitors with an in-depth look at their Rare and Minor Breeds Animal Program. Visitors will be able to view the types of animals that would have inhabited the first European Settlement in Plymouth.