A Look at Life in the Plymouth Colony, Home of the First Thanksgiving
Around this time each year, schoolchildren learn the story of the first Thanksgiving, celebrated four centuries ago by the Pilgrims, newly arrived from England, and members of the Indigenous Wampanoag tribe.
There’s a bit of mystery surrounding the actual feast. We don’t know for sure when it was held, and we don’t know the entirety of what was served.
Plimoth Patuxet in Plymouth, Massachusetts
From the journals of Pilgrim Edward Winslow, we learn that “wildfowl” were provided by the settlers — most likely ducks and geese, although turkey was a possibility — along with corn porridge. We know, too, that the Wampanoags contributed five deer. (Consider yourself fortunate when you’re only asked to bring a green bean casserole!)
As to the rest of the menu, we can only speculate. Since the event was a celebration of the harvest, and probably held in September or October, there’s a good chance turnips, carrots and garlic — crops the Wampanoags taught the English to cultivate — were present, along with a variety of nuts gathered from the forest. Shellfish and other seafood were plentiful and easily obtained, so they, too, might have been served.
An Important Partnership Between Settlers and Indigenous People
While the meal itself is not well documented, we know much more about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags and their interactions with one another. Those stories are fascinating in their own right.
Plimoth Patuxet in Plymouth, Massachusetts
To begin with, the relationship was not one of simple friendship, but more of a strategic alliance. A treaty signed between the two parties afforded the Pilgrims much-needed support for their survival, as the Native people shared crop-growing techniques and other ways of living off the land that warded off certain starvation. For the Wampanoags and their leader, Massasoit, the English and their fearsome firearms provided protection from Narragansetts and other rival tribes — a consideration important enough that it convinced the Wampanoags to set aside very recent experiences of brutal treatment by other British settlers.
Contrary to the history of many treaties between Europeans and Indigenous peoples, the parties to this one remained remarkably faithful to it. For half a century, until Massasoit’s death, peace reigned between the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims.
Experience Life as It Was in the Plymouth Plantation
Those early days in Plymouth and its environs are brought to life today at a complex of remarkable living history museums known as Plimoth Patuxet. Founded in 1947 by the delightfully named Henry Hornblower II, the museum began with two English cottages and a fort. Since then, it has grown to include the Mayflower II — a re-creation of the Pilgrims’ ship — as well as a Wampanoag homesite, an English village, barns, a grist mill, a craft center and more. Fundraising for an expanded Indigenous exhibit is also well underway. Throughout the complex, interpreters dressed in clothing of the period — and speaking in the manner of the time — demonstrate techniques in cooking, growing crops, raising livestock and other day-to-day aspects of life.
There is much to learn and discover here, and we’re pleased to share that Road Scholar has a program especially for grandparents and grandchildren that will immerse you in this fascinating experience.
Discovering Historic Plymouth & Cape Cod With Your Grandchild not only includes visits to the museum and the grist mill, as well as Plymouth Rock, but even more experiences to delight and enlighten you.
The Mayflower II is a replica of the 17th century ship Mayflower
See Giants — and Treasures — From the Deep
Your adventure will include a whale-watching expedition bringing you into the waters of the Atlantic to search for the world’s largest mammals. A breaching whale is one of nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles!
More high-seas excitement awaits at the Whydah Pirate Museum, home to artifacts from the legendary ship lost in 1717 and rediscovered in 1984. The Whydah went down with loot from more than 50 plundered ships, only a fraction of which has been recovered. See parts of this staggering treasure and learn more about the seafaring brigands who plundered it. We’ll take you to the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, too, to explore the more law-abiding side of ocean commerce.
Study the Science of the Sea Aboard Ship
You’ll round out your learning adventure aboard a biological lab study ship, as you and your junior scientist join the researchers studying the diverse marine life of the Atlantic.
Pilgrims and pirates, whales and the Whydah … they’re all brought wonderfully to life on an amazing journey you can share with your grandchild.