The Pilgrim Society was formed in 1820 (the 200^th anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims). The Society soon made plans to build a "monumental temple" to house the Society’s treasures, heirlooms of the Mayflower families acquired from their descendants and under the care of Dr. James Thacher –Revolutionary War veteran, physician, author, historian and first Librarian of the Pilgrim Society.

By March of 1824, a site had been selected on Court Street, with a sweeping view out to Plymouth harbor. Architect Alexander Parris, Pembroke raised and schooled, was selected. (Parris attained even greater prominence in 1825 when he was chosen to design Quincy Market in Boston.) Job and Abner Taylor of Plymouth were selected as builders.

On September 1, 1824, the new edifice was dedicated. The Rev. Mr. Kendall of First Church read a scripture lesson, followed by an address by Alden Bradford, Esq. in which he praised the "character and virtues of our ancestors."

Paid for by private subscription, Pilgrim Hall was built of Weymouth granite, with 10-foot ceilings on the lower floor and 23-foot ceilings on the upper. A wide front stair and Doric portico were planned but not completed until 1834. Enough of the building was finished by the end of 1824, however, that the 204^th anniversary of the Landing could be celebrated there and the Hall declared publicly "open."

The Hall has served many varied functions over its 182 years. As one of Plymouth’s largest and most distinguished buildings, it hosted public entertainments; parties and dances and fancy-dress balls were held here. So too were educational activities. Ralph Waldo Emerson lectured in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth’s first high school classes for girls were held in the basement of Pilgrim Hall, and the Plymouth Public Library used the Hall as a reading room in the 1860s and ‘70s.

Whatever its secondary uses through these 182 years, however, the Hall has always been a museum, open to the public, dedicated to telling the Pilgrim story. One of the earliest artifacts donated to Pilgrim Hall was the "Carver chair." American-made (and probably not owned by Governor John Carver), it is one of the earliest examples of colonial furniture. The Society has continued to collect and today Pilgrim Hall exhibits a unique collection of objects of overwhelming historic value :

as well as collections of artifacts that illuminate the lives of the Wampanoag, the Native People who inhabited this area for 10,000 years before the arrival of the new settlers, and the heroic-sized history paintings that graphically depict how the Pilgrims have been seen and valued through different eras of American history.

Today, Pilgrim Hall Museum is the oldest public museum in continuous operation in the United States.

For more information about Pilgrim Hall Museum's past, click HERE.
For information about Pilgrim Hall Museum's plans for the future, click HERE.