
President Theodore Roosevelt Laying the cornerstone for the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown in 1907
President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt came to Provincetown, Massachusetts on August 20th, 1907 to lay the cornerstone for the Pilgrim Monument as shown in the above antique postcard. It was a joyous occasion for the Cape Cod town and the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association founded in 1892 to honor Provincetown as the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing place in 1650. Crowds gathered and the bands played to mark the start of construction that was completed three years later in 1910.
While Plymouth often gets much of the glory for being the first settlement of the pilgrims, it was in Provincetown and Truro that the Pilgrims, sailing to the New World on The Mayflower, spent five weeks before they sailed to the base of the Cape. It was in Provincetown Harbor that they drew up the Mayflower Compact, which established the basic rules of governance for their new home.
The Pilgrim Monument situated up on a hill looking out over the town, stands 252 feet in height. The design of the all granite monument that sits 350 feet above sea level, was modeled after a classic stone monument in Italy, Torre Del Mangia in Siena. Whether you approach Provincetown by boat, car, or airplane, the Pilgrim Monument immediately grabs your attention as an important landmark. Which is why the Pilgrim Monument is a focal point on the cover of the just released novel Remaining in Provincetown now available at Amazon.com. If you’ve been enjoying this blog, you’ll want to read the book.
