Plymouth

By Donna DeFabio Curtin

Plymouth, famous as the landing place of the Pilgrims in 1620, conjures images of quaintly clad settlers, the first Thanksgiving, and Plymouth Rock. Known as America s Hometown, Plymouth is the nation s longest enduring English settlement, still thriving four centuries after its founding. In the 19th century, Plymouth became an industrial center with the largest rope-making factory in the world. Immigrant workers revitalized the old Yankee town, making its modern character as much blue collar as blue blood. A developing Plymouth embraced its past, erecting monuments to the Pilgrims and highlighting sites like Burial Hill and Pilgrim Hall. The town became a major destination in the 20th century, attracting tourists and seasonal residents with its antiquity and scenic beauty. From picturesque to gritty, encounter more than the Pilgrims in this postcard history of Plymouth, featuring early-20th-century souvenir views.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Apr 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781439639146

Donna DeFabio Curtin

Donna DeFabio Curtin lives with her husband, Ted, along the banks of Plymouth�s old industrial waterway, Town Brook. She currently researches local history and restores old houses as director of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society.

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INTRODUCTION

By American standards, Plymouth is ancient, steeped in four centuries of history and lore. It was famously settled in 1620 by a group of English families and a handful of single folk seeking economic betterment and, for many in the company, an opportunity to establish their own way of worship. The compelling story of the Plymouth colonists and the Native American residents they encountered, the Wampanoag, is documented in a range of primary sources, including early travel accounts, court and colony records, and Gov. William Bradford’s extraordinary journal. Despite the real-life drama of its founding, Plymouth’s larger significance is rooted in the romantic mythologizing of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Successive generations of Americans have cast the Pilgrims as upholders of an ever-changing range of principles, from democracy, liberty, and freedom to morality and family values. There are many enduring popular associations particular to Plymouth—its name evokes colorful scenes of Pilgrims and Indians, pumpkins and turkeys, harvest time and Thanksgiving festivities. Other colonial sites were established earlier, but none attained the symbolic importance of Plymouth or has captured the national imagination as lastingly. A major tourist destination, the town today claims significance as the site of the earliest continuing English settlement in North America and the home of one of the most recognized emblems of America’s founding, Plymouth Rock.

Though there are few architectural survivals from the Pilgrim era, the old town center, perched on a steep hill overlooking Plymouth Bay, preserves many layers of the past. Generations of visitors have explored the town’s old streets and alleys, the early graveyard on Burial Hill, and clusters of colonial and 19th-century houses. A seat of county government for centuries, Plymouth has continuously attracted out-of-towners to conduct business or address legal affairs at the courthouse. These early visitors to Plymouth became the first tourists, intrigued by the town’s antiquity. By the era of the early republic, Plymouth began to actively embrace and promote its past. In 1824, Pilgrim Hall was constructed to preserve the Pilgrim legacy by displaying the possessions of Mayflower passengers. A profusion of public memorials and monuments was erected in the 19th century as the Pilgrim story was popularized. After World War I, Plymouth’s historic waterfront was dramatically refashioned to highlight the Pilgrim legacy and accommodate tourists for the grand tercentenary celebration, the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, in 1920–1921. In the midst of these transformative festivities, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society was founded to encourage greater appreciation for Plymouth’s history after the Pilgrim era.

As it gained prominence in the first decades of the 20th century, Plymouth was changing in significant ways. The local population grew rapidly, from about 9,500 people in 1900 to just over 12,000 by 1910, though growth slowed somewhat in the following decade. The character of the town evolved with the arrival of many new immigrants, primarily from Italy, Canada, Portugal, and Germany, with a small number of newcomers from Russia, Scandinavia, and other parts of the world. Most new residents came to work in Plymouth’s mills and factories, experiencing a run of boom years before a prewar slump hit about 1914, and brought new traditions, different languages, and growing families to enliven local neighborhoods. The town was proud of its employment record and strong manufacturing base; local factories were emblazoned on maps, praised in guidebooks and the local paper, and pictured on postcards. At the same time, tourism was emerging as a new industry, buoyed by successive improvements in transportation from the railroad, steamboats, and streetcars to the private automobile and jitney bus.

Plymouth’s appeal, both then and now, extended beyond the Pilgrim story. It is the largest township in Massachusetts in geographic size, encompassing 134 square miles with several villages of distinctive character—each with a fascinating history in its own right—and a plethora of beaches, ponds, parks, and forests. Since the 18th century, Plymouth attracted visitors seeking to enjoy its natural bounties as well as to explore its historic roots. By the late 19th century, local promoters actively touted the town’s ocean vistas, healthful air, sandy beaches, wooded hills stocked with ponds, and unbounded resources for sportsmen or pleasure seekers, with good result. In 1899, an estimated 50,000 strangers toured Plymouth, drawn by the alluring combination of historic charm and beautiful scenery. Rising numbers of seasonal visitors, including many summer residents, excited townsfolk; but only a handful grasped the economic potential. A group of astute local merchants formed the Plymouth Commercial Club (later the chamber of commerce) in 1899 to attract business and advertise the town as a great place to work, visit, and live. Fledgling marketing efforts received a big boost when the town celebrated its 300th year and gained the national spotlight, aided by state and federal funding and the participation of Pres. Calvin Coolidge. Plymouth’s enhanced reputation as a destination stimulated a lively market for local souvenirs, especially the inexpensive postcard.

Many early Plymouth postcards were produced by innovative souvenir merchant and bookseller Alfred Stevens Burbank, a Pilgrim descendant and lifelong resident of the town. Born in 1857, Burbank was raised in the retail trade; his father, Stevens Burbank, was a successful dry goods merchant with a Main Street shop. In addition to his sales experience, young Burbank dabbled in the cutting-edge technologies of his day. He worked as a telegraph operator as young man, then developed a penchant for photography, shooting historic sites and natural scenery throughout the South Shore. In 1872 he launched his own business as a stationer and storekeeper under the name A. S. Burbank and quickly developed a range of local souvenir items to sell, including a series of blue-and-white china decorated with Pilgrim scenes. His early photographs became the basis for several products, including an extensive line of postcards printed in sepia, delft blue, black-and-white, and color. Between 1872 and 1932, A. S. Burbank published over 500 postcard views of the Plymouth area, a selection of which is represented in this volume.

In the following chapters, postcards trace the modern evolution of the town with scenes of changing thoroughfares, businesses, and public and private buildings from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Plymouth is rich in civic architecture, with courthouses, schools, churches, post offices, county prison, and a major