Getting There : Intro

Getting There from Here :
Transportation & Changes in the Land 1500-2000
By Karin Goldstein,
Curator of Collections, Pilgrim Society
An exhibit sponsored by Shiretown Ford & Sullivan Tire
May - October 2000

Today we take our transportation systems for granted. A 2-hour commute to the city through rush hour seems annoying now, but think of sailing there before good roads were built! 200 years ago people had to wait on the wind to sail from Plymouth to Boston, a trip of at least 8 hours!

Where do people want to travel, and why? The creation of roads, steamship and bus lines reflect our need to go from one place to another. Transportation impacts community development. Places where transportation lines meet become centers of commerce and/or tourism. Towns which are bypassed grow more slowly or decline. The presence of commuter lines and good roads allows people to live in suburbs far from their jobs, or even the nearest grocery store.

Developments in transportation reflect people’s changes in communication, business and commerce, tourism and entertainment, and commuting.

Journey with us as we explore changing transportation systems in southeastern Massachusetts over the past 500 years!

Journey by land		on 2 feet or 4 feet, on paths and roads, by stagecoach, carriage or cart
		by railroad
		by trolley
		on highways, by automobile.
Journey by sea		by canoe and shallop
		by packet boat
		by steamboat
		through the Cape Cod Canal.
Journey by air.

How long did the journey take? Click HERE for a chronology of timetables, Getting There from Here!