Free previewStop 7 of Plymouth Walking Tour: Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims
A Fort, a Church, Then the Dead
You've climbed up from the top of Leyden Street, and you're now on Burial Hill, the high ground right behind Plymouth's town square. At the bottom of the slope, beside the main entrance, stands the stone First Parish Church. Before you look at a single headstone, turn and look out over the rooftops to the bay. That view is the reason this hill matters, and the reason it wasn't a graveyard at first.
In 1620 and 1621, the Pilgrims buried their dead down on Cole's Hill, near the water, in a land that was already Wampanoag homeland. Up here they had a different job in mind. This hill rises about 165 feet above the sea and looks over the whole harbor and coastline. In 1621 and 1622, the settlers built a fort on the summit, a place to watch from and defend from.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 7 of Plymouth Walking Tour: Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
