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The location of Plymouth Rock, a boulder of granite (more specifically, Dedham granodiorite), at the foot of Cole's Hill is said to have been passed from generation to generation. In 1741, when plans were afoot to build a wharf at the site, a ninety-five year old man, Mr. Fraunce, pointed out the precise rock his father had told him was the first solid land that the Pilgrims set foot upon their arrival in the New World. (In fact the Pilgrims had landed at the site of Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod in November 1620 before reaching Plymouth).
An attempt was made by Col. Theophilus Cotton and the townspeople of Plymouth to move the rock in 1774. In the process the rock was split into two halves, and it was decided to leave the bottom portion behind at the wharf and the top half was relocated to the town's meeting-house.
A published reference to Plymouth Rock was made by Captain William Coit in the Pennsylvania Journal of November 29, 1775, relating a story of how he brought captive British sailors ashore "upon the same rock our ancestors first trod".
The upper portion of the rock was relocated from Plymouth's meeting-house to Pilgrim Hall in 1834. In 1859 the Pilgrim Society began building a Victorian canopy at the wharf over the lower portion of the rock. Following its completion in 1867, the top of the rock was moved from Pilgrim Hall back to its original wharf location in 1880. The date "1620" was carved into the rock.
In 1920, the rock was relocated and the waterfront rebuilt in such a way that when the rock was returned to its original site, it would be at water level. The care of the rock was turned over to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a new Greek-styled portico designed by McKim, Mead and White was built.
Alexis De Tocqueville wrote in 1835:This Rock has become an object of veneration in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in. I have seen bits of it carefully preserved in several towns in the Union. Does this sufficiently show that all human power and greatness is in the soul of man? Here is a stone which the feet of a few outcasts pressed for an instant; and the stone becomes famous; it is treasured by a great nation; its very dust is shared as a relic.
It has also been described as "the most disappointing landmark in America."
'Plymouth Rock' is also the name of a breed of chickenA chicken is a type of domesticated bird which is usually raised as a type of poultry. It is believed to be descended from the wild Asian Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus''. Habits In the wild, junglefowl sleep in trees. Chickens are omnivores and will feed with black and gray feathers that was developed in eastern MassachusettsMassachusetts is a state of the United States of America, part of the New England region. postal abbreviation is MA and its traditional abbreviation is Mass . It is properly called the Commonwealth of Massachusetts although there is no legal distinction b.