Plimoth Plantation

The Plimoth Plantation is a living museum in Massachusetts, United States, which includes a recreated 1627 English village and an indigenous Wampanoag homesite. This English village in North America is the main attraction at the Plimoth Plantation and brings to life the 17th century farming settlement built by the colonists.

Plimoth Plantation history

The Plymouth Colony was established in 1620 by English colonists known as the Pilgrims, seeking religious separation from the Church of England by travelling to America. The colony soon negotiated a treaty with the Wampanoag Chief Massasoit, helping to ensure the success of the settlement.

The museum itself was started in 1947 by Henry Hornblower II as only two English cottages and a fort on the Plymouth waterfront. The museum grew to include a replica of the Mayflower II and a visitor’s centre. The recreated buildings were created based on accounts, articles, period artwork and artefacts and the museum has continued to conduct its own research.

Plimoth Plantation today

Buildings have been recreated and the site is populated by actors who behave as its pilgrim inhabitants would have done, doing everything from speaking in the dialect of the time to sheep shearing.

The Plimoth Plantation also puts this English settlement into context. For example, the Plymouth Colony was built amidst the lands of the Wampanoag people and part of the Plimoth Plantation is the Wampanoag Homesite, a place to learn about this indigenous community both in the 1600s and today. For, while the structures and exhibits at the home site recreate the 17th century feel, the people there are not actors but indigenous people.

There is also a nearby recreation of the Mayflower II ship at the Plymouth Waterfront.

Getting to Plimoth Plantation

Finding the Plimoth Plantation is easy by car: head for the Plimoth Plantation Highway (3 or 3A) and there is plenty of parking on site. By bus, get the Mayflower Link to Plymouth Center.