Recognizing Pilgrim Hall Museum's 200th Anniversary

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Pilgrim Hall Museum's 200th anniversary.

Two centuries after the Pilgrims landed, the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts chartered the Pilgrim Society in 1820 to preserve the history of early Plymouth. It was decided that a museum should be constructed to tell the Pilgrim's story. Tasked with the responsibility of constructing the museum, builders Job and Abner Taylor laid the cornerstone on September 1, 1824, and on December 17, members of the Pilgrim Society met for the first time inside the Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Pilgrim Hall Museum is the oldest continuously operating public museum in the U.S. and is home to a collection of 17th century artifacts, including several pieces that were originally on the Mayflower. Over the last two centuries, the museum has continued to collect artifacts, books, and documents to tell the stories of the Wampanoag--who were in Southeastern Massachusetts thousands of years before early settlers arrived--and the Pilgrims. Artifacts include the Bible of William Bradford; William Brewster's great chair; the only portrait painted from life of Edward Winslow; the cradle that Susanna White rocked her son, Peregrine, in; and the earliest sampler embroidered in America by Loara Standish.

Of the 33,000 museums in the U.S., Pilgrim Hall Museum is one of less than 1,100 museums accredited by the American Association of Museums. This is a notable achievement that signifies a museum's credibility and quality and further ensures the integrity of a museum's collection.

In addition to serving as a museum, Pilgrim Hall also hosts lectures and small concerts, as well as the Annual Pilgrim Society Meeting, which is held on Forefathers' Day in the Main Hall. Today, Pilgrim Hall Museum continues to tell the story of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in a manner that is both accurate and inclusive, while highlighting and recognizing narratives that have traditionally been silenced.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Pilgrim Hall Museum, and I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating this monumental occasion of the museum's 200th anniversary and wishing Pilgrim Hall Museum continued success in the years to come.

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