The Pilgrim Society Library contains over 6,000 volumes related to the history and historiography of the Pilgrims and early Plymouth. It includes an important collection of rare books, including 200 titles dated before 1750, as well as works of past and recent scholarship. These resources provide the intellectual framework for museum exhibitions and publications and are a resource for scholars who specialize in 17th century New England.

Learn more about our Rare Book Collection

In 1904, a separate Library wing was added to the original 1824 Pilgrim Hall building to house the museum’s books and manuscripts.   

Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Henry W. Hartwell, William C. Richardson and James Driver, the early 20th century addition features vaulted ceilings of Guastavino tile and triple copper clad windows at east and west ends, with stone mosaic and terrazzo flooring and screened copper bookshelves on its first floor. Stained glass windows designed by Mary Wright Goodhue of Boston were added in October 1920, a gift of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Chapter of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America.

The first floor of the Library wing was restored in 2018 with the support of a Town of Plymouth Community Preservation grant and a Massachusetts Preservation Projects grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Renamed in honor of long-time Pilgrim Society steward Mary K. Castle Steinway, today’s Steinway Memorial Library is actively used as a meeting space and research center. It is open to researchers by appointment.

What’s not in the Library? The Pilgrim Society Library does not contain genealogical materials. The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, headquartered in Plymouth, focuses on genealogy with a library and online resources for researching lines of descent from the Mayflower Pilgrims.