The Pilgrim Society was founded in 1820 to tell the story of America’s beginnings in Plymouth. In 1824, Pilgrim Hall Museum opened to the public. It is one of the oldest continuously operating public museums in the United States, where authentic possessions of the Mayflower Pilgrims are displayed.

Pilgrim Hall Museum’s extraordinary collection of 17th century artifacts and gallery exhibitions illuminate the experiences of the English settlers and the Wampanoag people of early Plymouth Colony. It’s an intimate story of families, of differing cultures, conflict, and courage in the face of great difficulties.

For 200 years, our organization has fostered knowledge and deeper understandings of Plymouth’s iconic story. We invite you investigate the fascinating, complex, and even surprising histories of the Mayflower Pilgrims – immigrants establishing a new home in an unfamiliar land – and the Wampanoag, “People of the Dawn,” who inhabited their homelands for about 13,000 years before the arrival of Europeans and who are still here today.