Postmarked North Quincy, MA, dated February 23, 2009.
National Monument to the Forefathers, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Erected in 1889, this 81 foot memorial is dedicated to the four virtues that brought the Pilgrims to the New World: Morality, Law, Education and Liberty. It is the largest freestanding granite statue in the world.
Photo by Sally Saniuta, Luca Sassi.
Interesting in several ways for me. First it follows on nicely from the previous Massachusetts card, I live near Southampton, one of the stopping-off points, and I have been to the UK Plymouth a number of times.
The long journey of the Pilgrim Fathers (the name was not used until 1799) when, in 1608, a group of English Puritans went to Leiden in the Netherlands to escape persecution. Some of them found it hard to settle there and were given permission to emigrate to America.
They set sail in 1620 in the Speedwell for Southampton, where they met up with the Mayflower. The two ships left Southampton for America but the Speedwell sprang a leak and had to put in at Plymouth in Devon where some of the passengers were transferred to the Mayflower. They eventually arrived in America 66 days later, but not in Virginia as originally planned - they landed in Plymouth on Dec. 26, 1620.
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Plymouth has some important history unlike it's football team.
ReplyDeleteSheila another interesting one for me, the village where I originate from, Oxton in Nottinghamshire has strong links with the Pilgrim Fathers.
ReplyDeleteThere is a plaque in the church there commemorating a local man who sailed on the Mayflower.
Having just returned from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I cannot help but marvel at the obstacles the pioneers of the US were able to overcome. What a great statue. Whoaa! 81 feet is a big statue!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I have a few postcards of Plymouth, including Plymouth Rock, but have never heard of this monument before.
ReplyDeleteThese statues look like Roman Statues, while we are in new the New World.
ReplyDeletePretty travel by postcards.
@Martin, very true. :) :)
ReplyDelete@Mike, I am starting to believe the whole of England has some connection with the Pilgrim Fathers. I looked it up when I discovered there was a monument in Southampton saying the Mayflower sailed from there, especially as I'd seen the one in Plymouth. It turns out they could also be said to have sailed from Rotherhithe. And of course the people on board came from all sorts of places. Not all made the full journey. It could make a full post on its own.
@Karen, yes, it's big!
@dmarks, it's new to me too, so I was especially pleased to receive it.
@Eddy, they do look very like Roman statues, you are right.
The area surrounding the monument is a bit seedy, though I think it has been cleaned up in recent years. It is also quite a distance from the silly "Rock" that is the major focal point of tourism in Plymouth.
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