In Small Things Remembered: A New Look at Mayflower Pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden

Exhibit Hours:  Tuesday-Sunday:  11am-4pm (Closed Mondays)

The Alden Kindred of America is creating a permanent archaeological exhibit about historical icons and Mayflower Pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden, based on new scholarship that brings to light their lives in 17th century Duxbury against the backdrop of Plymouth Colony.

The nationally significant artifacts, unearthed in a dig of the first Alden home site in 1960 by historical archaeologist Roland W. Robbins, include household materials, personal items, rare armaments, and tools, along with Native American artifacts. Most of the artifacts have never been shown before. A recent analysis of the recovered ceramic artifacts sheds new light on the Aldens’ everyday lives and a rare glimpse of the world of 17th-century women in Plymouth Colony.

As part of the original agreement with the Mayflower’s investors, the Pilgrims were awarded grants of land in Plymouth Colony seven years after the voyage. In 1628, the Aldens and other Mayflower families moved to their lands located north of the Plymouth settlement (now Duxbury). There they built homes, farmed, and raised their children. This first Alden House in Duxbury, occupied between 1630 and 1680, was dismantled by the Aldens and rebuilt about 300 yards to the west (the current Alden House).