About Pilgrim Hall Museum
Pilgrim Hall Museum was opened by the Pilgrim Society in 1824 and is one of the oldest continuously operating public museums in the United States. Its collection centers on Plymouth Colony and includes rare 17th-century objects associated with the Mayflower passengers and early Plymouth, while also interpreting the history and continued presence of the Wampanoag people. The museum's long history is itself part of the story, showing how Americans have collected, commemorated, and reinterpreted Plymouth's past for more than two centuries.
Among the museum's notable objects are William Bradford's Bible, William Brewster's great chair, the only surviving portrait of a Pilgrim painted from life, and a cradle traditionally associated with the Mayflower voyage. Galleries also feature paintings, Indigenous collections, changing exhibitions, and the evolving Plymouth Tapestry project. Because it combines original artifacts with interpretation of both historical events and later memory, Pilgrim Hall is an especially strong stop for visitors who want to move beyond reconstructed settings and see material evidence connected to the people of early Plymouth.
