Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692

The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820. Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.

The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor the Pilgrim Fathers.

Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members attend.

Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00 per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities of the Society.