The Incredible Shrinking Plymouth Rock

Jill's Journal: It’s taken us a week, but we finally were able to grab Rob for an hour after work and take in the historic sight of Plymouth Rock as a family. Everyone knows this is supposedly where the Pilgrims first set foot in Plymouth, but not everyone knows what has happened to this poor shrinking rock in the 390 years since – what a story. First, here’s a full view of the memorial canopy that now protects the rock on the shore of the bay. If you look closely, you can see what remains of the rock near the water level.

In 1774, when Plymouth was 154 years old and the unrest of impending Revolution was at its height, the townspeople wanted to do something to really commemorate the rock…so they decided to move it. At the time, this was a massive, massive piece of granite. It took 20 yoke of oxen (40 oxen) to lift it from the shore…and it promptly split in two from the effort. American patriots took it as a sign of the division of the British Empire.

The lower piece of the rock was then dropped back into the bay and the top piece of the rock was moved to the Town Square, where it was neglected after the Revolution and used at the end of a wall to prop up an embankment. People had also started chipping away pieces as souvenirs, so in 1834, it was moved again, to the lawn of the Pilgrim Hall Museum we visited a few days ago. However, it fell off the wagon on its way and acquired the famous crack you can see. Even with an iron fence around it, visitors continued to chip away pieces.

In 1867, the first memorial canopy was built at the spot where the lower piece of the rock was still in the bay. A number of Caucasian bones found in 1854 in unmarked graves – believed to be those who died during the Pilgrims’ first winter in Plymouth and were buried in secret to hide the numbers from the Indians – were also included. However, the lower portion of the rock was too big to fit in its new home, so it was decided to cut off several pieces to make it fit. In 1880, the top half of the rock was moved from Pilgrim Hall and reunited with the lower half. This is also when the “1620” was carved into it.

Around 1920 and the 300-year celebration of Plymouth, it was decided to demolish the first memorial canopy and build the present structure…so the rock (both sections) was lifted from its bed on the shore and moved again. The strain caused it to break yet again and further pieces had to be removed to make the remaining sections fit together.

Today, about four tons of the rock is visible and another six tons sits below the sand. It’s believed today’s Plymouth Rock is only one-third to one-half the size it was when it welcomed the Pilgrims’ weary footsteps.