{"nrhp_refnum":"66000142","name":"Cole's Hill","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Carver St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Plymouth","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.957265967379215,"lon":-70.66230280564648,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1960-10-09","areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Cole's Hill is a public park and historic site on Carver Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts, overlooking Plymouth Bay near Plymouth Rock. It is the traditional burial place of colonists who died in the winter of 1620-1621, and it was landscaped as a park in the early 20th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Cole's Hill is one of the few sites tied to the earliest Plymouth settlement that still conveys the character of the 1620 colony. It is the traditional burial ground of Pilgrims and others who died in the first winter, and it remains a dominant landmark with a sweeping view of the bay where the Mayflower arrived.","narrative":"Cole's Hill is a grassed hilltop park on Carver Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts, bounded by Carver, North, Water and Leyden Streets and covering about 1.25 acres. It slopes steeply to Water Street and Plymouth Bay, close to Plymouth Rock. Colonists buried their dead here during the first winter of 1620-1621, reportedly at night with the graves disguised. The hill later held the home of Deacon Samuel Fuller and a tavern kept by James Cole, from whom it takes its name. The Pilgrim Society acquired it about 1820 and, before the Massachusetts Tercentenary, cleared the buildings and landscaped it. Memorials include a granite sarcophagus dedicated in 1921 and holding bones found on the hill, Cyrus Dallin's bronze statue of the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, and two stone seats. The nomination values the hill because most other early Plymouth sites have lost their original character, while this one remains a dominant landmark overlooking the bay.","period_of_significance":"1620-1621","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, altered, on its original site, and used as a public park owned by the Pilgrim Society.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 01:58:42.863874-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/7938/63793819/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/66000142_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000142/20d58b1d91-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000142/20d58b1d91-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cole%27s_Hill,_Plymouth,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cole%27s_Hill,_Plymouth,_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"82004435","name":"Plymouth Village Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/plymouth-village-historic-district-82004435/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793819","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole%27s_Hill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5142609"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/coles-hill-66000142/"}