Plymouth Rock may well be America's first urban legend. When I grew up in the Midwest in the 1960s, I learned that Plymouth Rock was the first piece of land pilgrims stepped onto as they came ashore in the New World. The story was romantic and sounded good, and Plymouth Rock had meaning. But visiting "the rock", I quickly learned a lot of what I was told was simply wrong.First off, Plymouth was NOT the first place the pilgrims set foot in the New World. They actually first landed on Cape Cod near Provincetown. They did not like it much there and moved across the bay after several weeks. There is no account that anyone ever set foot on Plymouth Rock. In all the writings of the time a large rock is never once mentioned. It wasn't until over 100 years later that folks started the myth of a big rock in the harbor being the first place the Pilgrims stepped. As a matter of fact Plymouth wasn't even the first settlement, Jamestown in Virginia was already up and running when the pilgrims landed. So much for believing your grade school teachers!
America was young and needed symbols. So, in 1774, they tried to move the rock up into town and make a shrine of it. However, when they tried to move the rock, it broke in two! So if you look closely at the rock today, it's actually two pieces held together with mortar.
In 1859, they carved the date 1620 into the rock and built a permenant home for it by the harbor. The building looks somewhat like a small Greek temple and houses the rock.I have been to Plymouth Rock three times, and each and every time, someone will walk up, look down, and say in a loud voice, "That's it?" I have to agree--it's a bit underwhelming to see it. I feel sorry for the ranger who stands guard by the rock, who must hear this over and over, day after day.
To see Plymouth Rock it's located downtown, near the harbor. You can't miss the small temple. It's free and is always open to view. It may be a bit underwhelming, it may be a bit of a myth, but it is one of the great American symbols and is worth the stop, even if it's just to ask, "Is that it?"