Pilgrim Monument - Provincetown, Massachusetts - A few notes on an incredible monument and event for contemplation on Thanksgiving

Emblem of Mayflower on monument in central Provincetown, MA
dedicated to those who died on Mayflower there in NOV 1620

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual…O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment”

Henry David Thoreau

During this time of Thanksgiving I am truly thankful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon my family and I. For the fact that I am healthy, live in a beautiful part of the greatest Nation on the earth, have clean water to drink and exist in relative peace and safety. This are things we don’t always think about but we should often stop to ponder these things and give thanks because there are billions of people in the world who are not so fortunate and we truly are blessed to be able to live in the United States and take part in the American Dream. The preceding sentiments caused me to think of the plight of the Pilgrims who most certainly did not enjoy those blessings when they first arrived in North America. Therefore, I would like to turn our attention to the first landing of the Pilgrims at Provincetown, Massachusetts and the wonderful Pilgrim Monument that is located there to commemorate this event. In early September of 1620, Captain Christopher Jones, his crew and his passengers, some of whom were fleeing religious persecution in England departed Plymouth, England on their trans-Atlantic voyage. The Mayflower was an older ship that was used primarily as a cargo transport and not well suited to passenger travel. The ship displaced 181 tons and was just over 100 feet long. There were about 100 passengers on board and 30 crew. The ship carried food stores, fresh water, small animals such as chickens and sheep as well as some cannons and gunpowder for defense as the settlers believed they may encounter French or Spanish privateers on their voyage and possibly need to defend against the Indians. On the 11^th of November (by the ships calendar) or the 21^st of November (what most scholars believe) the Mayflower, after a nasty, miserable voyage of 67 days, dropped anchor in Provincetown Harbor up in the curl of the boot of Cape Cod in what is now Massachusetts. That day, Captain Jones and many of the others climbed into a smaller boat and came ashore at the site of present day Provincetown and began to explore the area for supplies. The Pilgrims had intended to land in the vicinity of Virginia but they made landfall far north and as a result, it was much colder than they expected and they suffered greatly for it. High seas prevented them from attempting to sail south to Virginia so they decided to stay and settle where they were. When they landed at Provincetown there was snow on the ground and it was a miserable night as temperatures dropped below freezing and the clothing that they wore that was wet froze solid. They later found a good spring down the Cape and some corn that was stored under mounds and by pillaging this corn they made the local Indians upset and had their first encounter with them but no one was killed on either side. The colonists decided that the Cape was an unsuitable location and proceeded on to Plymouth where they spent the first winter on the ship. While the ship was anchored in what would later be known as Provincetown Harbor, the pilgrims wrote the “Mayflower Compact” which basically stated that they were now a democratic people where all were “Straightly tied to all care of each other’s good and of the whole by every one”.  45 of the roughly hundred passengers that crossed on the Mayflower, died the first winter of exposure, starvation, scurvy, tuberculosis and other diseases. It is difficult for me to imagine the pain and suffering these pilgrims endured. It is something I will be thinking about this Thanksgiving for sure. If you visit Provincetown, MA, the first thing you will notice is the very tall stone tower that overlooks the entire town. This is the Pilgrim monument that was erected between 1907-1910 to commemorate the Pilgrims first landing back in November 1620.

Pilgrim Monument Tower - Provincetown, MA

There is a fine museum at the base of the monument and when I visited there I learned all kinds of fascinating things about not only the Pilgrims but the monument itself. According to information in the Museum, the tower is modeled after a bell tower like the Tierra del Mangia in Sienna, Italy and is made of Granite taken from quarries at Stonington, Maine. A plaque outside on the grounds states that the tower is 252 feet tall and you can climb all the way to the observation deck near the top of the tower via a unique series of 60 ramps and then 116 stairs. I spoke with a gentlemen who works at the Monument and he told me that when you are on top, you are 353 feet above sea level – the highest perch on Cape Cod and on a clear day you can see Boston 60 miles away as the bird flies. There is no elevator in the monument so keep that in mind. It was quite a big deal when this tower was completed as there were 8 battleships in the harbor, thousands of people on the shore and President Theodore Roosevelt himself attended the ceremonies. The walk up to the top of the monument is very interesting. The ramps are strange but kinda neat. I have climbed many lighthouses and memorial towers all across the Country but I have never seen anything like these ramps. As you climb ever higher in the monument you will notice different colored square stones with inscriptions on them that commemorate settlements that were incorporated during the time that the Plymouth colony existed and they read Boston 1630, Quincy 1625, Braintree 1640 etc. etc. etc. When you reach the top you have outstanding views of Provincetown Harbor and the rest of Cape Cod through slit like stone windows.  From Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Day the staff decorates this amazing structure with over 5,000 white lights and holds an annual lighting ceremony to commemorate the first landing of the Pilgrims back in NOV 1620. There are all kinds of interesting artifacts and displays in the museum at the base of the tower and there is a nominal fee to enter but these fees and donations go to further the maintenance, upkeep and operation of the Pilgrim Monument and the Provincetown Museum. If you are in Boston and you have the time to spare, take a ferry jaunt if the season is right or drive down through Plymouth, see those sights and then continue down around and up the boot of Cape Cod to partake in the rich history of Provincetown and the incredible Pilgrim Monument and Museum.

Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday – Jaromy D. Jessop

For admittance fee information and hours contact:

Pilgrim Monument – Provincetown Museum

High Pole Hill Road

Provincetown, Massachusetts,

508-487-1310

http://www.pilgrim-monument.org/

Provincetown Harbor where the Mayflower dropped anchor in NOV 1620 as seen from top of Pilgrim Monument
Provincetown, Massachusetts

Interesting ramp system inside Pilgrim Monument - Provincetown, MA

Typical commemorative block on the way up inside the Pilgrim Monument - Provincetown, MA