Plimoth Plantation is a great place to learn about the Pilgrims

PLimoth Plantation

Each fall,  as November nears, our thoughts turn to the bountiful feast soon to be spread before us.

Though harvest feasts have e been taking place since almost the beginning of time, the Pilgrims are generally credited with holding the first Thanksgiving in what is now the state of Massachusetts.

If you’ve ever wondered what life was like for those colonists, you’ll definitely want to visit Plimoth Plantation, a re-creation of the Pilgrim village as it was in 1627. It is one of the most interesting living history museums you’ll ever visit.

Although it doesn’t sit on the original village site, the recreated village mirrors that one much as it was a few years after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. There are houses, barns, storehouses, gardens and fields. At any of these places you’ll find “Pilgrims” going about their daily life.  Actors playing some of the people who lived there in 1627 will explain how they came to the New World and what they’re doing now.

Plimoth Pilgrims taking a break.

The actors, dressed in period costumes, are well versed in the history of their character and are quite believable.  When I visited there, a woman who had lived in Holland before coming over on the Mayflower was telling about that experience. A man from the Netherlands began talking to her in Dutch; they carried on a conversation for several minutes. When it was over, everyone asked him how her Dutch was.  He said she spoke an archaic version of Dutch, while he spoke modern Dutch, but they were still able to understand each other.

The actors are superb and well-controlled. They would have to be to answer some of the visitors’ questions. For one thing, they don’t know anything about what happened after 1627.  So if a visitor asks them what they think of man walking on the moon, they’ll look amazed and tell you something like that is unthinkable and could never happen – all with a straight face.

At the village site, you’ll also meet with Native Americans who will talk about how the arrival of the colonists changed their culture. They will be speaking from a 21^st century perspective.

Besides the 17^th century village, Plimoth Plantation museum also includes Mayflower II. The replica of the original ship can be found at the waterfront.  Here, you’ll find actors portraying original colonists who came on the first Mayflower. The Mayflower II was much tinier than I expected and it was hard to imagine that many people crammed into so little space. 

Plimoth Plantation is locate in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Re-creation of the original Pilgrim village