Before They Landed on Plymouth Rock: Where Pilgrims Walked on the Cape

The Provincetown Monument commemorates the Pilgrim’s first landing place at the Cape’s tip.

It’s Thanksgiving time again. That means turkey, football, and family. But as you sit down at the table to overstuff yourselves, how about raising a glass to those intrepid explorers and freedom-lovers without whom all that pie would not be possible? We speak, of course, of the Pilgrims. This group of 100 hardy souls made Plymouth famous. But did you know before they set foot on that Rock, the Pilgrims checked out the scene on Cape Cod? Here’s a look at the local landmarks where the Pilgrims landed before sitting down to dinner with the Wompanoags and their chief, Massasoit.

• Pilgrims’ First Landing Park, Commercial St., Provincetown – On November 11, 1620 the Mayflower circled around the tip of Provincetown and docked in Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims’ first steps are commemorated with a plaque and a small park located in the middle of the rotary at the end of Commercial Street, appropriately called Pilgrims’ First Landing Park.
• Pilgrim Monument, High Pole Hill Rd., Provincetown – This granite tower was erected in 1910 overlooking the harbor. It is 252-feet tall and stands 350-feet above sea level. The view from the top is simply incredible. The first stone of the tower was laid by then President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 and is a fitting tribute to the colonists.
• Pilgrim Spring Trail, Pilgrim Heights Rd., Truro – This trail leads through the woods out to a breathtaking scenic overlook of dunes and ocean from a raised vantage point. From the overlook it is a quick walk to a plaque telling the tale of the Pilgrims’ first drink of fresh water in the new land. There is a small pool there to this day, but it is not known whether it is the same water an exploratory party came upon nearly 400 years ago on Nov. 16, 1620.
  

  Pilgrim Spring Trail – Truro

• Pilgrim Pond, Pond Rd., Truro – It was here that a group of 16 Pilgrims, led by Myles Standish and William Bradford, spent their second night on the shores of Cape Cod. Today, the spot is an unassuming landmark consisting of a small park and a couple of benches along the water. The best view of the pond is a short walk from the park, and although it is difficult to see much of the water, it is still a marvelous chapter of the Pilgrims’ story on the Cape.
• Corn Hill/Corn Hill Beach, Corn Hill Rd., Truro – It was near this beach on November 16, 1620 that the same group of 16 Pilgrims purportedly came upon a Wampanoag stash of corn and fresh water which they took and used to sustain their people. Corn Hill stands upwards of 100 feet above the beach but views are somewhat limited due to the homes dotting the area. It is possible to drive the road and gaze down at Little Pamet River to the south to get a taste of the amazing panoramic scenery.
• First Encounter Beach, Samoset Rd., Eastham – The beach’s name commemorates the “First Encounter” between the group of Pilgrims, led by Myles Standish and William Bradford, and the Nauset Tribe of the Wampanoags. On December 8, 1620 the two groups met along the beach here. Earlier, European explorers had visited and even captured members of the Nauset Tribe leaving them with some less-than-fond memories of white visitors. So the “First Encounter” was not a pleasant one. The Native Americans slung arrows and fired muskets at the Pilgrims and, in the end, both sides retreated and the Pilgrims beat feet for Plymouth.

Within days, the Mayflower set sail across Cape Cod Bay and landed at Plymouth Rock on Dec. 16, 1620. And the rest, as they say, is history.

By Christopher Setterlund