The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-08-03
PRICE TWO CENTS.

Two newspaper. the Plymonth Rock, AID the U6
Colony Memorial, .-e published here. The pops
| laton Is about six thou.and
The Samoset House, the ,r;nc;naI hotel \tere-
and very fine well-conducted >stabishment n is-
had all Its spare accommodations engaged in ad'
vance Tor several weeks past-it had Iraadv beA a
twothirds full OF regular boarders-and Wien An .
rived here yesterday found that could not Gee
any lodging, there being only another small public
house here, which was also choke fun. But the dif
fculty in mine and hundred other cases was eass>
y obvated most of the house holders volunteered
to take as many persons to coop with them as they
could find means of providing for, and this and the
erection OF few tents and fitting up vacant houses
for companies, all have been and will be, in one way
or other accommodated. l had the good fortune
to be located in the family of an old and reverend
member OF this community-a Mr.. Goodwin-who 10
now the Oldest resident Of the town, and has never
been SO far out Oft as New York.
There are many objects of interest here for
the antiquary, the historian, and the lover Of
country The name Of Plymouth Rock, on whioh
the Pilgrims landed is talisman to inspire
lovers of liberty in all future ages. But it is well
that the name has such a spell, as The rock it
self is not an object to inspire, by its physical
appearance, much emotion. By the forming Of .
wharf close by rather where it STOOD the water
was necessarily docked up at some distance from it:
so that the visiter would be somewhat astonshed On
making pilgrimage to that sacred relic to find that
it actually constitutes part of public street, at the
entrance to wharf, and being flush with the road.
carts cross its surface every hour 1t is an irregular
shaped stone, some five feet in average diameter and
with its face roughened by the habit of visiters in
knocking of portion of its surface. On either SIDE
of the rock and in front of it, Water street. stand
provision stores, where men deal in the unronantio
commodities of fish, flour, rye and ship stores. An
other and the upper portion of this rock lies within
an enclosure in front of Pilgrim Hall. 1t was at
tempted in l775 to remove the rock into the centre
OF the town, but it split in the operation, and the
upper surface only removed, and now lies in its
present position, somewhat in the shape of whales
back, with high and very handsome iron circular
paling surrounding it. This paling stands ON .
granite foundation about foot high from the sur
face, the spikes terminating in the form of an arrow
and habert alternately. On a sort Of imita-
ton drapery are engraved, between each spike,
the names Of those men who came over in the May
flower. / copied them to-day, and give them
to you as matter of interest to many of your
readers. They are in front, facing the street,
Carver, (the first Governor of the colony,}
Standish, Brewster, Allerton, Howland Bradford, r.
Winsow, G. Winslow, Chiffon Alden Fuller, War.
ren, White, Clarke, Crackston, Hopkins, Turner,
Mullins, Gardiner Margeson, Butterdge, Tinker,
Eaton, Soule, E. Tiley, Williams, Fuller Brown,
Rogers, j. Tily Fletcher, Cook, Ellington, LESTER.
Dotey, Goodman, j. Allerton, Martin, Puest, Ridge
dale, English.
On each side Of the stone-for there are two Sides
facing the street and the other the buildngaEo
painted in large black letters the figures 1920 II is
traditionary that the first English feet that ever trod
that surface, those of Mary Chiffon, the daugh
ter Of Richard Wilton, who died the same winter.
She was the eldest Of two sisters, Mary and Susan
nah, the former married John Winslow, and the
latter Mr.. Latham. The direct descendants of these
families are to be found now in Bndgewater and
Boston, and probably some of them will take part In
the celebration tomorrow.
Pilgrim Hall itself is fine solid looking building.
of unhewn granite of the Grecian Doric order the
portico being sustained by six columns, twenty feet
in height. 1t stands few yards of, and fronting
Maine street, distance to the north Of the point
where the landing was Effected 1t contains many
curiosties and memorials of the oden times, among
which are the chair of Gov Carver, the sword blade
OF Miles Standish ana very large painting, repre-
senting the Landing Of the Pilgrims This being
Sunday, could not obtain access to Pilgrim Hal
nor the Court of Records, where there are many in
teresting records but went instead to see the old
church and the old burying ground.
Those who should look to see small antiuuated
structure in the old church, would be very much mis-
taken as it is very handsome wooden edifce, built
somewhat in the old English STYLE with large
gothic window covering most of the front small
towers rising each side of the entrance with larger
ones at each of the front angles the whole forming
very imposing edice. The interior corresponds with
its outward appearance. The walls and roof are hand
somely painted in fres,o, with cross either side
Of the altar, and the east end is large gallery
and organ loft. This church stands on the site Of
that erected by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1887, and
was itself rebuilt in 1881. The tenets Of the congre-
CATION are Unitarian, but they claim to be nearer
those of the Pilgrims than are those expounded i'm
its neighboring edifcc, the Church of the Pilgrim
age. The Rev. Mr. Csgood, Of New York. preached
to-day, and of his sermon and the services win
probably give you an outline in my next. The CO
metery does, however, preserve its look Of aoe and
there stones half buried in the soft soil - saolls
on which the antiquary would feel delight IN trying
to decipher spent some time myself in that occu-
pation and will give you the result of my researches
On modern black slate stone, standing beside
others many years older of which it is the expostors
is inscribed the following legend
"Here ended the pilgrimage of John Rowland
ard Elizabeth, his wife. She vas the dau'tr
OF Govr Carver.
"They arrived in the Mayhover Deer 1920
they had sons and dau trs from whom
are descended numerous posterity"
Then, in inverted commas, are inscribed tn ,s
words
"1e7e Feby 23rd, John Rowland deceased
he lived TO the age Of so years
He tho lsst that was left Of
those that in the ship
called the Ma flower that lived
in Plymouth" plymouth Records1
So much for the last of the Pilgrims. How ~