{"nrhp_refnum":"70000680","name":"Plymouth Rock","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Plymouth","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.95809443300004,"lon":-70.66185067599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-07-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Plymouth Rock is a granite boulder at the foot of Cole's Hill on the edge of Plymouth Harbor, Water Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts. It sits behind a granite seawall beneath a classical granite canopy designed by McKim, Mead and White and dedicated in 1921.","why_significant":"The Rock is the traditional symbol of the Pilgrims' landing and the founding of the first permanent English settlement in New England. It was identified in 1741 by Elder Thomas Faunce, and although the official Pilgrim records name no landing place, its value as a historic symbol outweighs the question of authenticity. The form also notes the canopy's architecture.","narrative":"Plymouth Rock is a large granite boulder at the foot of Cole's Hill beside Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts, now incised with the date 1620. It is regarded as the traditional symbol of the Pilgrims' landing and the first permanent English settlement in New England. In 1741, ninety-one-year-old Elder Thomas Faunce identified the stone, saying original settlers had pointed it out as the landing spot. The official Pilgrim records name no specific landing place, but the Rock's value as a symbol outweighs that question. The boulder split in 1774 during an attempt to move it to the town square. One half was later moved to Pilgrim Hall in 1834, and the halves were rejoined in 1880. Today the stone rests behind a granite seawall under a gray granite canopy by McKim, Mead and White, dedicated in 1921 and given to the Commonwealth by the National Society of Colonial Dames. Sixteen monolithic columns support the canopy.","period_of_significance":"17th Century (specific dates 1620, 1741)","architect_builder":"McKim, Mead and White (canopy)","architectural_style":"Classical canopy","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; altered and moved; owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and used as a historical site, park and museum.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.0335-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7966/63796640/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000680.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000680/2b2be8aaa4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000680/2b2be8aaa4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plymouth_Rock,_in_front_of_Pilgrim_Hall,_%221834%22_LCCN89710848.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plymouth_Rock,_in_front_of_Pilgrim_Hall,_%221834%22_LCCN89710848.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796640","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Rock","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1072391"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/plymouth-rock-70000680/"}