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| John O'Neill (jjron) |
Recently, vandals painted the renowned Plymouth Rock with one word: “LIES.” A symbol
of the Pilgrims landing in 1620, Plymouth Rock was once part of a much larger
rock formation, but it was broken, and over time, chipped away by collectors
and treasure hunters. Located on the shoreline within Pilgrim Memorial State Park, what’s left of Plymouth Rock is now surrounded
by a fence and viewed from a platform above. To look at this artifact nestled
in the sand leaves one unimpressed by its supposed historic significance. After
all, it’s a rock. And it’s not a geologically impressive one either.
Plymouth Rock through
the Ages
Let's use a timeline,
one of the great tools for genealogy, to backfill the history of Plymouth Rock.
- 1620:
The Mayflower lands in Plymouth Harbor.
- 1623:
Thomas Faunce’s father John arrives in Plymouth Colony onboard the Anne.
- 1647:
Thomas Faunce is born in Plymouth Colony.
- 1715:
A “great rock” is mentioned in the town boundary records.
- 1741:
Plans begin for building a wharf at Plymouth Harbor. Thomas Faunce, a 94-year-old church elder, identifies a large rock as the place where the Pilgrims
disembarked, claiming his father and some original Mayflower passengers
told him so. Despite his claim, a solid-fill wharf is built, with just
part of the rock showing.
- 1774:
The rock breaks in two when patriotic efforts were made to relocate it to
the town square, next to the Liberty Pole. The lower half is left behind
at the wharf.
- 1834:
The rock is moved from the town square to Pilgrim Hall, built 10 years earlier. During its travels, the rock
breaks in two again.
- 1859-1867:
The Pilgrim Society builds a Victorian canopy over the lower half of the
rock left at the wharf.
- 1880:
The upper half of the rock is taken from Pilgrim Hall and reattached to
the lower half. The date 1620 is inscribed on the rock.
- 1920:
The rock is placed at sea level and a Doric portico is built over it in
honor of the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims.
Perhaps the vandals were
pointing out the flaws of historic recollection and national remembrance, of
turning a historic moment into a tangible object. After all, no contemporary account mentions a rock on which the Pilgrims
stepped foot. Although just hearsay, the rock landing could have been an oral
tradition within the Faunce family. Or perhaps Faunce was making an analogy
between Plymouth Rock and the Bible verse: "You are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against
it" (Matthew 16:18). It could be an old man was trying to instill upon the
younger generations the veneration he had for the Pilgrims and their
achievements, in a time when the founding fathers’ beliefs and traditions were
being washed away.
Whatever the vandals
were trying to say, their act reminds us how important it is to understand our
history—and its embellishments.
