Copyright MassLive
PLYMOUTH — There may not be an American landmark that gets clowned on as much as Plymouth Rock. I know it. Folks who grew up in Massachusetts know it. Heck, even the folks at Plymouth’s official tourism organization are in on the joke and its reputation as “the worst field trip ever” and one of the country’s most overrated tourist destinations. Sure, it’s a rock that sits about a dozen feet from the road, looking like a fossilized walrus huddling in a sandy pit. Besides having “1620″ inscribed on the surface, it’s not that impressive. If you’re going to Plymouth with the sole purpose of visiting the portico and the rock, you’re going to be disappointed. But hear me out. I think Plymouth Rock has come full circle. For decades, it was an ever-disappointing climax to educational trips. But these days, Plymouth Rock is kind of weird and ironic. I like it. What’s it like to visit Plymouth Rock? Plymouth Rock sits in a large granite portico on Water Street in Plymouth. The rock itself resides in a sandy pit about a dozen feet below street level, giving visitors a chance to look down at the symbol of American history. There are bars on the eastern wall of the pit that reveal a view of the shores of Plymouth Bay. In terms of literal destinations, it’s a bleak, barren roadside attraction. It’s basically part of the sidewalk. You really don’t need to spend more than a minute inside the portico. There isn’t much to see. For students and children taken there on a trip sight-unseen, there’s really only one fair reaction to seeing a bleak, grey rock in the sand. “That’s it?” Yes, that’s it — in a literal sense. But this is where I think the turnaround begins. For example, did you know that the main reason we care about the landmark today is because, in 1741, a 95-year-old man told everyone he wanted to look at a rock before he died? Plymouth Rock: History or myth? Plymouth Rock is just like you and me. It’s been through some stuff and has to deal with mean comments online. It was sitting there, minding its own business, for hundreds of millions of years. Then a bunch of English outcasts rolled into town. In the 405 years since then, poor Plymouth Rock has been moved, dropped, broken and glued back together. But the significance of Plymouth Rock goes well beyond what you see in the portico today. “That’s the remnants of the huge, gigantic Plymouth Rock that we would have seen,” said Lea Filson, president of See Plymouth. “So, I mean, there’s so much. There’s myth around it, there’s fun around it, there’s stories around it.” Let’s start with the rock itself. Plymouth Rock has taken a beating over the years Filson describes the rock as a “glacial erratic” that was in the area before even the oceans. According to historian James W. Baker, it is a hunk of Dedham Granite with a “volcanic provenance” that goes back about 600 million years to the supercontinent of Pangea.” The rock has been moved around three or four times over the centuries. During one of those moves, the rock was dropped, splitting into two pieces. When Plymouth Rock was successfully moved, it was not uncommon for visitors to chisel off pieces of the rock for themselves. Was it really where the pilgrims disembarked? Plymouth Rock famously symbolizes the spot where the first ship carrying only English families arrived in what is now America. But did they actually step off onto the rock? Even the Pilgrim Hall Museum website notes that, “there are no contemporary references to the Pilgrims’ landing on a rock at Plymouth.” Filson says that settlers didn’t step off from the Mayflower. They needed to take a shallop to get to the shore. After that, it’s possible that settlers stepped directly onto the rock. The pilgrims arrived in the midst of a bitter winter in Massachusetts. So it would make sense for settlers to aim for the great big rock jutting out of the shore rather than jumping into the freezing water. At the very least, the rock serves as the symbol for the disembarkment that would spark the settlement of New England. The old man and the rock Plymouth Rock has always toed the line between history and myth. The rock’s historical significance wasn’t a point of public fascination until well over 100 years after the arrival of the Mayflower. That was 1741, when the town planned to build a wharf in the area where the rock resided. According to Baker, the news reached a 95-year-old man named James Faunce, who was known as “ruling elder” in the town and collector of oral histories. Faunce’s father had assured him that the rock was the place where their ancestors had first set foot in Plymouth. As such, Faunce wished to bid a tearful “last farewell” to the rock before he died. The wharf was still built. But in the wake of Faunce’s declaration, the rock was left visible and eventually became the landmark it’s known as today. That’s the team right there: Being 95 and having so much knowledge that I can tell that town that I want to go look at a rock before I die, in the process reshaping the legacy of the town for centuries. So, is it a tourist trap, or does it have a bad rap? If you’re going to see Plymouth Rock and are expecting a big visual spectacle, then, yes, it is. But that’s entirely on you. At this point, the rock’s lackluster reality is common knowledge. When I was a kid, Plymouth Rock was wrapped in mystique, a budding tension and excitement that fizzled out the moment I looked over the ledge and thought, “Wow, that’s way smaller than I thought it would be.” Today, anyone who’s going to see Plymouth Rock is probably going to look it up and see a picture — and all the snarky comments. The expectations are going to be different for those going today. When you visit Plymouth Rock, there are two routes you can take to avoid falling into the tourist trap: 1) Enjoy the town. You spend five minutes at the portico and cross the rock off your to-do list. You can then spend the rest of your day galivanting around Plymouth, which is a delightful town that goes full “Gilmore Girls” in the fall. Disappointed by the rock? Go trot over to Main Street and enjoy the historic downtown. Go to the Plimouth General Store (yes, that’s how it’s spelled). Check out Bamp’s Toy Vault, which has Lego sets stored in an actual vault. Wound up from a disappointing landmark? Unwind down the street at Shelley’s Tea Rooms, which has over 100 loose-leaf teas. 2) Actually try to learn about the history of Plymouth Rock, which is surprisingly weird. Take a moment to actually learn about this poor rock that’s been dropped and glued back together over the years. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, See Plymouth runs educational sessions roughly every 30 minutes during the day. There are also a number of museums and historical societies with additional information, such as nearby Plymouth Hall and Mayflower II.
