Pilgrim Hall Museum Press Room

The Pilgrim Story - the hazardous voyage, the 1620 landing, the fearful first winter, the First Thanksgiving - is the treasured heritage of all Americans.  This dramatic saga of courage and perseverance has inspired the American people throughout the nation’s history.  The mission of PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM is to protect and foster this heritage as a dynamic national resource.

PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM, built in 1824, is a gallery museum in the center of historic Plymouth, Massachusetts.  The nation's oldest continuously-operating public museum, PILGRIM HALL houses an unmatched collection of Pilgrim possessions.  Among its irreplaceable treasures are William Bradford’s Bible, Myles Standish’s sword, the only portrait of a Pilgrim (Edward Winslow) painted from life, the cradle of New England’s first–born, Peregrine White, the great chair of William Brewster, and the earliest sampler made in America, embroidered by the teenage daughter of Myles Standish.  The possessions and artifacts of the Pilgrims tell the story of  brave and determined men and women, and their attempts to build lives and homes for themselves and their children in a new world.

At PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM, you will also learn the story of the Wampanoag, the Native People who inhabited this area for 10,000 years before the arrival of the new settlers. The story of the interrelationship between the Wampanoag and Colonial settlers continues through the disastrous conflict of the 1670s, known as King Philip's War.  The legacy of Princess Red Wing, a descendant of Massasoit and the first Native American to appear before the United Nations, brings the story of the Wampanoag into more modern times, showing the continuing vigor of a people that have a continuous presence in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  

PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM also contains a superb collection of American history paintings, ranging from Henry Sargent’s heroic Landing of the Pilgrims to Jennie Brownscombe’s First Thanksgiving, demonstrating the continuing significance of the Pilgrim story throughout American history.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions complement PILGRIM HALL MUSEUMS’s mission by presenting various historic, artistic and social themes, rooted in the 17th century Plymouth experience and evolving throughout time.    

Pilgrim Hall Museum: General Information

PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM is located at 75 Court Street (Route 3A), Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360.  
The Director is Peggy Baker.  Telephone (508) 746-1620 Extension 2.  FAX (508) 747-4228.
Her email contact is: pegbaker@pilgrimhall.org

The Hall is wheelchair accessible. 
Free parking is located conveniently behind the Museum.

HOURS OF OPERATION are 9:30-4:30, 7 days a week, February 1 through December 30.  Closed Christmas Day and for the month of January, but open on Thanksgiving Day (and all other holidays)!

ADMISSION FEES: $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens (62+) and AAA members, $4 for children 5-17, families (2 adults with their children aged 5-17) are $20.   Adult and family residents of Plymouth, Massachusetts, are admitted free.  Guided tours, which must be reserved in advance, are available for schools and other large groups.