When Mariana asked it was real, we began to explain that the rock is a somewhat random, but symbolic monument to the Pilgrim's landing. We were interrupted, however, by a Park Ranger who began to tell us -- and the assembling group -- the real story.The fact is, it is the rock. Well, kind of.
The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor in 1620, after first stopping near Provincetown. But, the rock is not mentioned in any contemporary accounts of the landing.
It wasn't until 121 years later that a 10 ton bolder in Plymouth Harbor was claimed to be the precise spot where the Pilgrims first stepped.
The claim was made by 94 year old Thomas Faunce, a church elder, who said his father -- who arrived in Plymouth in 1623 -- and several original Mayflower passengers told him that the stone was the specific landing spot.
[As our Park Ranger pointed out, this is not possible as the rock was 1) off shore and 2) no self respecting captain would tether his ship to an offshore rock.]
When Faunce heard that a wharf was going to be built over the "Mother Rock," he asked for a final glimpse. He was reportedly carried three miles by chair from his house to the harbor so he could bid it an emotional farewell.
In 1774, with the talk of revolution sweeping the colonies, some Plymouth residents decided that it was time to get Plymouth Rock involved. Using 20 team of oxen, they attempted to move the boulder from the harbor to the Liberty Pole in front of the town's meetinghouse. But, as they tried to load the rock onto a carriage, it accidentally broke in two.
The bottom was buried on the shore; the top taken to the Town Square. In 1834 the rock was moved once more this time to the front of the Pilgrim Hall Museum. And it broke again.
Meanwhile back on the beach, the first canopy was erected in the 1860's to protect the portion of the rock buried there. But, it had to be trimmed so it would fit in the enclosure. [It was later learned that a 400 pound slab of what was cut ended up as a door step at a nearby home!]
Finally in 1880, what we know today as Plymouth Rock was united with its base on the shore. It was then that the date "1620" was added.
The only evidence of the monument's ill fated journeys is a cement scar. But, because of all the accidents, it's estimated that Plymouth Rock is only a third to a half of its original size. Two thirds of what remains is still buried in the sand under its 1620 top.
J.R.R. Tolkein wrote that "legends and myths are largely made of 'truth.'''
So, in that sense Plymouth Rock is real. [Even if it really isn't.]
