The designation of Coles Hill as a registered National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, was announced at the Annual Meeting of the Pilgrim Society on December 21, 1961. An official plaque will be placed on Coles Hill. The formal application for
this designation, made by the Society, reads in part: A tablet mounted on the granite post at the top of the steps on Coles Hill bears this inscription: "In memory of James Cole Coles Hill, rising from the shore near the center of town and overlooking the Rock and the harbor, has occupied a prominent place in the affairs of the community. Here were buried the bodies of those who died during the first years of the settlement. From it could be watched the arrivals and departures of the many fishing and trading boats and the ships that came from time to time. In times of emergency, the Hill was fortified for the protection of the town. At the foot of its slopes and along the shore were the warehouses, stores and wharves in considerable number, connected with the shipping interests, which were a most important activity in the town in the latter part of the 18th century and for a large part of the 19th. Many observances of Forefathers Day have taken place near the Rock, and for a long time it was customary for the local militia, called the Standish Guards, to fire a volley at the Rock in honor of the Pilgrims each Forefathers Day. In later years, the water front has been the scene of many civic and community activities, notably the pageant entitled The Pilgrim Spirit, enacted at the observance of the Tercentenary of the Landing, in 1921. The seats for the spectators were erected on the slope of the Hill. There are now (1954) four memorials to
the Pilgrims on Coles Hill: Coles Hill - First Burial Place It is a generally accepted belief
that
Coles Hill was used as a burial place for the Forefathers who died in the early
years of the settlement at Plymouth.The Pilgrim Republic - John A. Goodwin,
Tercentenary Edition 1920 Page 116: Fearing that the savages, seeing by the graves
from afar how much the settlement was reduced, might be emboldened to make an attack, the
mounds on Cole's Hill were smoothed down and the spot sowed with grain. Mr. William T. Davis, in Plymouth Memories,
pp. 321-323, makes the following statements regarding the period during which it was used
as a burial place: In his History of the Town of Plymouth (1885) Mr. Davis says that Coles Hill had been abandoned as a cemetery prior to 1643. He states that there were buried there John Carver, Elizabeth Winslow, Mrs. Mary Allerton, Rose Standish, Christopher Martin, Solomon Powers, William Mullins, William White, Degory Priest, Richard Britteridge and perhaps others to the number of forty-four. (Pilgrim Memorials and Guide for Visitors to Plymouth by William S. Russell (1851) adds the names of John and Edward Tilley and Thomas Rogers.) Very few died in the years immediately following 1620-1621, so it seems a fair assumption that there were buried on Coles Hill those of the fifty Pilgrims who died after the Mayflower reached Plymouth, together, perhaps, with some of the crew of the Mayflower, if they were not buried at sea. Probably the total number of burials was between forty-four and fifty. Early Uses of Coles Hill The land on the top of what was the original Coles Hill has never been sold or transferred by the Town. There have been so many changes in the topography of the Hill that the exact area which this included would be difficult if not impossible to determine. It probably extended from the top of the slope opposite the north corner of the Plymouth Rock House to somewhere opposite the foot of Middle Street. The first mention of Coles Hill in either the Plymouth Colony or Town records is the vote of the Town, March 6th 1698/9 when "The towne granted to Nathaniel Warren 50 fut front of land below Coles Hill soe Caled by the shore side and soe to Ron down from High Water Marks in to the sea to whorf out soe farr as may be Convenient the said Warren alwayes leaveing A sufficient way for carts to pass along the shore between the banck & the sd land to be taken upp." The following statement appears in the
introduction to Vol. 1 of the Town Records: Volumes I and II of the Town Records
covering the years 1636-1705 and 1705-1743 list many liberties and grants to wharf out
into the harbor and to land below Coles Hill. A liberty was a permission which did
not convey any title. Several of these liberties and grants ran across what is now Water
Street, others were merely on the shore but even here the lots were opposite homes or
warehouses owned by the grantees on the westerly side of the street. In all such cases it
was required that a way be left open along the shore between buildings for passage
parallel to the shore. These ways were later strung together to become Water Street in
1716. The street layout of that year bounds the foot of Coles Hill. At a Town Meeting May 13, 1706, " ... it was voted to build a Watch House upon Cooles hill so Called & apointed Capt Warren to procure it Dun." February 21, 1708/9: "Thomas Doty is Granted a lot by the watersid below Cole hill next to Captain Warrens Grant on the southerly side thereof of 30 foot in breadth and soe to Extend Downward into the sea soe far as may be Convenent to Worffe in Case ye sd Doty build on ad spot of land within 2 years after this Date and also he leaving A sufficion way for Carts to pas between ad Coles hill and his sd building or Worfage." February 21, 1708/9: "At sd Meeting Mer John Mordo, and Benjamin Warren wer Chosen and aponted by the Town to lay out a sufficent part of the shore sid below the new strets End for ye landing of wood and hay and for laying vessels on shore upon any ocasion needfull and voted that it shall be perpetualy for yt us Never to be granted to any particular." Note by Davis: "Town Dock is here referred to, one of the pieces of real estate in Plymouth, where only title deeds are the patent of the Northern Virginia Company and the treaty with Massasoit." May 9, 1709: "At this meeting it was voated that one hundred and 30 foot of land along the shore sid below ye New streets End shall be and Remaine for a perpetuall Comon for ye use of the Town Never to be Disposed of to aney perticular person sd land being allredy staked out by men apointed by sd Town." Note by Davis: "Notwithstanding this vote, grants to individuals have been subsequently made by the town., and the landing place is now about 85 feet wide." (1892) In 1713/14 the Town voted "That the Watch House on Coles Hill should be a place to Coope such swine as are taken up Legally until they can Dispose of them as the Law directs." February 16, 1715/16, the Town voted to lay out a way on Coles Hill ten feet in width. Several times the Town appointed committees to consider the situation with regard to the lots on Coles Hill, to prevent future encumbrances., provide for the upkeep of the Hill, and to see if the conditions of various grants had been complied with. In 1742 a Province Grant was made to the Town for the construction of a breast work and platform. A committee reported that it had considered the matter and reported that the place called Coles Hill was the most suitable place for the erection of such a work. In 1746, the Town voted to sell a lot of land below Coles Hill to Thomas Jackson and Thomas Foster, provided they shall build a stone wall for preserving the bank above, to the satisfaction of the Town. In 1748, the Town voted "That ye Selectmen of ye Town Should Sell ye Watch House on Coles Hill to ye best advantage for ye Town and that it shall be sold at a Public Vandue." Evidently there was trouble with the maintaining of the Hill, for about that time it was voted to choose a committee to consider the circumstances of Coles Hill, said hill being "Much diminished & Broken away". There must have been confusion as to the various grants and sales of land, as in 1753 another committee was chosen "To discover ye proprietors or owners of the Severall Lots there formerly granted or sold by ye Town, to consider ye Circumstances of sd Coles Hill." In 1757, the Town voted that "said David Turner have liberty to erect a fence on ye Brow of Coles Hill, above his land there, provided that his so fencing shall not be understood to give him property To any land belonging to the Town within sd fence; but that the same be and Remain the Towns as it has Done hitherto." Evidently the confusion regarding the various lots on Coles Hill was not entirely cleared because in 1764 another committee was chosen to examine the records of the lots and "To Take a View of them". In 1775 the Town "voted to build a brest work for firing the cannon in this town" and appointed a committee to build such a work on Coles Hill and Barnes Point, at one or both of said places, as the committee shall think proper. It must have been built on Coles Hill. for in 1779 the Town voted to sell the fort on Coles Hill for "the most it will fetch either at vendue or otherways". Quotations from some of the Histories and Guide Books Relating to Coles Hill The Pilgrim Republic - John A. Goodwin,
Tercentenary Edition 1920 Copyright 1879 by John A. Goodwin, Copyright 1888 by William B.
Goodwin "In the course of the recent excavations on Coles Hill, some scattered bones of human bodies have been found; and on Monday, as workmen were digging out one of the post-holes in front of the house of Arad Perkins, a skull was thrown out by the spade. The poor relic of humanity was broken in removal; but the pieces were gathered up by Mr. Snell of the Plymouth Rock House. It was examined by Dr. Warren Peirce, who declared it to be the skull of an elderly white person, probably a male. From the location there can be little doubt the remains were those of one of the Pilgrims who died in the first sad winter, and was buried on the hill. - Old Colony Memorial, October 11, 1883." Note by Goodwin: "In making improvements
on Coles Hill in Plymouth, the graves of Pilgrims who came over in the
Mayflower have been discovered. One grave was opened November 27 (83)
and a skeleton found in perfect order. These are the only graves of the first settlers
that have been positively identified, and a tablet will be put up marking their
position." Acquisition of Land by the Pilgrim Society Old Plymouth - A Guide ....
- 1881
- Page 37: The Pilgrim Society began to acquire land near Coles Hill and the Rock in 1855. By deed dated January 4. 1855, Isaac L. Hedge conveyed to the Society "A certain parcel of land with the building thereon situated on the westerly side of Water Street immediately westerly of Plymouth Rock and opposite the head of Hedges Wharf and extending westerly to Coles Hill. This conveyance is made upon the express condition that said promises are to be forever held and used for purposes connected with a monument to the memory of the Pilgrims to be erected in the vicinity of the premises." (Plymouth Deeds Book 264, Page 139) On February 16, 1855, Phineas Wells conveyed to the Society "A certain lot of land situated on Water St. in Plymouth near Plymouth Rock; bounded and described as follows, westerly by Water St., northerly by Town Dock, easterly by land covered by a building owned by heirs of Barnabas Hedge and by them conveyed to Andrew L. Russell and another, and southerly by Hedge Wharf. With the expressed condition that the premises shall be held and used for the purposes connected with a monument to be erected in the vicinity and not to be built upon for other purposes." (Plymouth Deeds Book 264 - Page 139) May 29, 1856, Isaac Tribble et ux and Nathaniel C. Barnes et ux George L. Tribble and Isaac Tribble conveyed to Pilgrim Society land near the Rock, bounded easterly by Water St., northerly by land conveyed to the Society by Isaac Hedge, westerly by Coles Hill, southerly by land of heirs of Henry Jackson. (Plymouth Deeds Book 294 - Page 169) January 1, 1857, Winslow W. Tribble to Pilgrim Society "Way leading from Middle St. to Water St. together with the lower part of the building on said land meaning to convey all my interest in said estate on the southeasterly side of Coles Hill". (Plymouth Deeds Book 277 - Page 185) On January 17, 1859, Hammatt Billings conveyed Hedges Wharf to the Pilgrim Society. Mr. Billings was the architect who designed the canopy over the Rock, (which was removed in 1920) and the National Monument to the Forefathers. Plymouth Memories - William T. Davis Page 15 - Mr. Davis makes the following
reference in his remarks about North Street: From Plymouth Memories - page 15 -
"The Linden tree standing on the corner of Coles Hill, has an interesting
romance connected with it. The tree was planted by a youthful couple as a memorial of
their engagement, and when not long afterwards, in 1809, the engagement was discontinued,
and the memorial was no longer prized by the lady in whose garden it had been planted, she
one day pulled it up and threw it into the street. My father, who happened to pass at the
time, picked it up and planted it where it now stands." Under the date of November 22, 1920, the Pilgrim Society conveyed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the land which it owned east of Water Street, which was described in the deed as follows: "a certain parcel of land with the so-called Plymouth Rock and a wharf thereon situated in the Town of Plymouth and bounded as follows, Northwesterly by land of said Town of Plymouth, commonly known as Town Dock, northeasterly by the harbor, southeasterly by land of Anthony Atwood et al and southwesterly by Water Street." Some years ago, probably about 1930, it was necessary to re-set some of the stone steps at the bottom of the flight leading from the top of the hill. When they were removed, a container was found within which were various papers, evidently placed there when the steps were first constructed. These papers, together with some additional newspapers current at the time, were placed in a new container and replaced under the steps when re-set. Change in Carver Street at the Time of the Tercentenary Celebration About 1920, the layout of Carver Street at the foot of Middle Street was moved somewhat to the west, which necessitated the purchase and removal of the so-called Anthony Atwood House by the Commonwealth. This was done to permit the erection of the Sarcophagus on the place where same human bones had been found, as nearly as it could be determined. The lot of land on the northwesterly corner of Middle and Carver Streets remains the property of the Commonwealth, although maintained by the Pilgrim Society in connection with its care of Coles Hill. Prior to the change in Carver Street, there was a granite slab on the Hill at the foot of Middle Street, giving some information about the discovery of the human bones on the Hill and the location where they had been found. This slab is still in existence, stored at the Town Farm. The inscription on this tablet reads as follows: "On this hill Joseph Henry Stickney As a member of the Pilgrim Society, Mr. Stickney was much interested in its aims, contributing liberally to assist in carrying then out. Besides many other benefactions, which need not be mentioned in connection with Coles Hills Mr. Stickney contributed two thousand dollars in May 1883, for buying land on Coles Hill and in October of the same year, six thousand five hundred dollars for the purchase of the wharf and five hundred for land south of the Rock. Mr. Stickneys principal benefactions
were contained in his will, the seventy-fifth clause of which left seventy-four thousand
dollars to a Board of Trustees for the preservation and improvement of various historical
areas, monuments, etc. Twenty-one thousand dollars of this amount was for extending
Cole's Hill to Leyden Street. A considerable number of years elapsed before the
Trustees expended all of the funds available, and the total expended on Cole's Hill
finally amounted to twenty-three thousand, four hundred thirty-seven dollars and twenty
cents. In 1911 the Town of Plymouth released to the Trustees of the Stickney Fund all the land owned by said Town easterly of the easterly line of Carver Street, southerly of a line in extension of Middle Street, westerly of the westerly line of Water Street and northerly of the northerly line of Leyden Street. By deed dated June 29, 1929 the Trustees of the Stickney Fund conveyed to the Pilgrim Society a certain parcel of land situated in Plymouth bounded and described as follows: easterly by Water Street, southerly by Leyden Street, westerly by Carver Street and northerly by land of said Pilgrim Society. These various transfers consolidated the ownership of the entire area described in the Pilgrim Society, where it now remains. The remaining assets of the Trustees were
distributed in accordance with the decree of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts,
entered in the Equity Case No. 1060, by the above transfer to the Pilgrim Society, by
deeds to the Town of Plymouth and expenditure of remaining funds under the principal of
"Cy Pres", so that its affairs were finally closed in 1935. Under date of April 24, 1917, Mr. Arthur Lord
wrote a letter to Mr. William W. Brewster in relation to the care of Coles Hill. Mr.
Brewster was then secretary of the Pilgrim Society and also secretary of the Trustees of
the Stickney Fund. Pertinent sentences from this letter are as follows: Coles Hill is cared for and
maintained by the Pilgrim Society, entirely without expense to the Town, because of its
historical significance and for the enjoyment of the public. [NOTE
: Cole's Hill was turned over to the care of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1993.] References: |
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Updated 14 July, 1998