Leyden Street is a street in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

that was created in 1620 by the Pilgrims, and claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited street in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

of British America. It was originally named First Street; afterward in the Records it was called Great and Broad Street. It was named Leyden Street in 1823, but it is also known as Leiden Street or The Street.

History

The Pilgrims began laying out the street before Christmas in 1620 after disembarking from the ''Mayflower''. The original settlers built their houses along the street from the shore up to the base of Burial Hill where the original fort building was located and now is the site of a cemetery and First Church of Plymouth. Town Brook (Massachusetts), Town Brook is adjacent to the street and provided drinking water for the early colonists. Governor William Bradford (Plymouth governor), William Bradford, Dr. Samuel Fuller, Peter Browne (Mayflower Pilgrim), Peter Browne, and other settlers owned lots along the road. The famed First Thanksgiving was likely held nearby in 1621. In 1823, the street was named Leyden Street after the city in Holland that offered the Pilgrims refuge before coming to America. Leyden Street has been re-created at nearby Plimoth Patuxet, Plimouth Plantation to look as it probably did in 1627. Leyden Street has been used continuously since the original settlers built houses along it, making it the oldest continuously used road in the United States.James Baker, ''A Guide to Historic Plymouth'' (The History Press, 200

,

References

Gallery

File:Leyden Street in Plymouth Mass.jpg, Leyden Street, the first street in Plymouth File:First Parish Church in Plymouth MA.jpg, First Parish Church at the base of Burial Hill on the town square, is a continuation of the original Pilgrim church File:Plimoth Plantation view.jpg, view from the fort at Plimoth Plantation, looking down a re-creation of Leyden Street, the first street in Plymouth File:Leyden Street in Plymouth Ma.jpg, Leyden Street, the first street in Plymouth, as seen from First Parish Church in Plymouth File:Town House Site on Leyden Street in Plymouth Ma.jpg, Town House site on Leyden Street File:Town Building Site plaque on Leyden Street in Plymouth Ma.jpg, Town House site plaque on Leyden Street File:William Bradford home site on Leyden Street.jpg, Site of William Bradford's home on Leyden Street

History

References

Gallery

See also