Plymouth

Sister cities

• Plymouth
• Shichigahama

History

Prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims, the location of Plymouth was a village of the Wampanoag tribe called Patuxet. The region was visited twice by European explorers prior to the establishment of Plymouth Colony. In 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed to Plymouth Harbor, calling it Port St. Louis. Captain John Smith was a leader of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and he explored parts of Cape Cod Bay and is credited with naming the region "New Plimouth." Two plagues afflicted coastal New England in 1614 and 1617, killing between 90% and 95% of the local Wampanoag inhabitants. The near destruction of the tribe from disease resulted in their cornfields and cleared areas being vacant for the Pilgrims to occupy. The Mayflower first anchored in the harbor of Provincetown, Massachusetts on November 11, 1620. The ship was headed for the mouth of the Hudson River (which was in the notional territory of the Colony of Virginia at the time, before the establishment of New Amsterdam) but it did not go beyond Cape Cod. The Pilgrim settlers realized that they did not have a patent to settle in the region, so they signed the Mayflower Compact prior to disembarking. They explored various parts of Cape Cod and eventually sought a suitable location for a permanent settlement to the westward in Cape Cod Bay. They discovered the sheltered waters of Plymouth Harbor on December 17. From the protected bay they found a site for the new settlement after three days of surveying. The settlers officially disembarked on December 21, 1620. It is traditionally said that the Pilgrims first set foot in America at the site of Plymouth Rock, though no historical evidence exists in support of this claim. The Plymouth colony faced many difficulties during its first winter, the most…

Geography

The latitude of Plymouth is 41.95833 and its longitude is −70.66778. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land, and (28%) is water. With the largest land area of any municipality in Massachusetts, Plymouth consists of several neighborhoods and geographical sections. Larger localities in the town include Plymouth Center, North, West and South Plymouth, Manomet, and Cedarville. Plymouth makes up the entire western shore of Cape Cod Bay. It is bordered on land by Bourne to the southeast, Wareham to the southwest, Carver to the west, and Kingston to the north. It also shares a small border with Duxbury at the land entrance of Saquish Neck. Plymouth's border with Bourne makes up most of the line between Plymouth and Barnstable counties. The town is located roughly southeast of Boston (it is almost exactly from Plymouth Rock to the Massachusetts State House) and equidistantly east of Providence, Rhode Island. Located in the Plymouth Pinelands, the town of Plymouth has many distinct geographical features. The town's Atlantic coast is characterized by low plains, while its western sections are extremely hilly and forested. Plymouth contains several small ponds scattered throughout its western quadrant, the largest being the Great Herring Pond (which is partly in the town of Bourne). Cachalot Scout Reservation, operated by the Cachalot District of the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, lies adjacent to the state forest lands. There is also a smaller town forest, as well as several parks, recreation areas and beaches. Plymouth has nine public beaches, the largest being Plymouth Beach. Plymouth Beach guards Plymouth Harbor and consists mostly of a three-mile (5 km) long, ecologically significant…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  20,605
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,264
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,966
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  16,457
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  16,174
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,752
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,965
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,943

Largest nearby schools

• Plymouth North High
  High · Plymouth · 1,301 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Silver Lake Regional High
  High · Kingston · 1,046 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Plymouth South High
  High · Plymouth · 1,028 students · 9.9:1 ratio
• Duxbury High
  High · Duxbury · 927 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Plymouth Commun Intermediate
  Middle · Plymouth · 878 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• Carver Elementary School
  Elementary · Carver · 773 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Carver Middle/High School
  High · Carver · 752 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Pembroke High School
  High · Pembroke · 733 students · 12.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2020-11-08
  10 km S of Bliss Corner, Massachusetts
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts
• M 2.5 — 2005-11-17
  4 km S of Plymouth, Massachusetts
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-07
  3 km NNW of Hopedale, Massachusetts