The John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

consisting of two separate properties in

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Both properties are significant for their association with

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

, one of the settlers of the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...

who came to North America on board the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'', and held numerous posts of importance in the colony. Alden and his relationship with

Priscilla Mullins Priscilla Alden (, ) was a noted member of Massachusetts's Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims and the wife of fellow colonist John Alden (1687). They married in 1621 in Plymouth. Biography Priscilla was most likely born in Dorking in Surrey, the dau ...

were memorialized by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

in ''

The Courtship of Miles Standish ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims. Overview ''Th ...

'', a fictionalized

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...

that made the story a piece of American folklore. One of the two properties contains the archaeological remains of the house John Alden built c. 1630, and is also significant in the field of historical archaeology as the mature field work of

Roland W. Robbins Roland Wells Robbins (1908–1987) was an American archaeologist, author, and historian who is known for discovering the site of Henry David Thoreau's house at Walden Pond. His other discoveries include the Saugus Iron Works and the John and Prisc ...

(1908–1987), an early historical archaeologist. It is on land owned by the Town of Duxbury. On the second property stands a house which was traditionally dated to c. 1653 as a work by Alden, but is, by forensic analysis, judged to have been built around 1700, probably by John Alden's grandson. This property has been under the continuous ownership of the Alden family; it is now managed by a family foundation as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

Alden Homestead Site

The Alden Homestead Site is located on a knoll overlooking the

Bluefish River The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

, on a parcel of land that is now owned by the Town of Duxbury, and is principally occupied by the Duxbury Junior High School. The site is marked by wooden posts which outline the site of the foundation excavated by Roland Wells Robbins in 1960. A bronze marker is mounted on a granite stone above from the site, bearing the inscription "Site of the John Alden House built 1627". The property is part of a parcel granted to John Alden in 1628, and is about from the Alden House, which abuts the town property. The site has been of archaeological interest since the 19th century, when historical artifacts were found in the area. The first formal archaeological survey of the area was conducted in the 1950s, but did not locate the homestead foundation. The Alden Kindred Foundation, owners of the Alden House Historic Site, hired Robbins in 1960 to investigate the area. He located and excavated a granite foundation, in size, with evidence of a deep cellar hole underneath the western end. He excavated the area within the foundation, including the cellar, and recovered more than 7,000 historical artifacts and 2,000 prehistoric Native American artifacts. Most of these were nails and other construction materials. A significant number of cultural artifacts provide evidence that the site was last occupied in the 1650s. In consultation with other archaeologists who analyzed the finds, and based on documentary evidence, Robbins assigned the house a construction date of 1632. Later research, including new fieldwork and reinterpretation of Robbins' work by Craig Chartier, suggests that the foundation might be an addition to an older structure which was

earthfast A post in ground construction, also called earthfast or hole-set posts, is a type of construction in which vertical, roof-bearing timbers, called posts, are in direct contact with the ground. They may be placed into excavated postholes, driven ...

(i.e. built on wooden posts set in the ground), a building method known from other Plymouth Colony sites. Chartier concludes that this site was Alden's home for most of his time in Plymouth.

Alden House Historic Site

The Alden House Historic Site is a

house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a v ...

that was purportedly home to John and Priscilla Alden. It is located at 105 Alden Street in

Duxbury, Massachusetts Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to t ...

. Family tradition held that the house was built in 1653 as the second home of John and Priscilla Alden, although the original building may have been built as early as 1630. In 2003,

dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

and architectural analysis of the current structure suggests that it was built , after John and Priscilla were deceased. Alden was ship's

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

on the

who arrived in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1620 and later moved to Duxbury. Although not a

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

himself, he was an important figure throughout the period of the

. This house may have used materials from Alden's earlier house which was nearby.

Recognition

The sites were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978, and were declared a

on October 6, 2008.

Gallery

File:Priscilla and John Alden (70453).jpg, Priscilla and John Alden File:John Alden House historic marker.jpg, John Alden House historic marker File:Dining room, John Alden House, built 1653, Duxbury, Mass (61530).jpg, 1930s postcard depicting the dining room File:Bedroom, John Alden House, built 1653, Duxbury, Mass (71566).jpg, 1930s postcard depicting a bedroom

References

External links

Alden House and Kindred Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:John And Priscilla Alden Family Sites National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Houses in Duxbury, Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Plymouth County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County, Massachusetts