At 252 feet, The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, Cape Cod (P-town, to locals) is the tallest free-standing granite structure in the United States. Credit usually goes to Plymouth, MA as being the first landing spot for the Pilgrims in the New World, but Provincetown was technically the first. Before The Pilgrims set foot on land, they signed the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown Harbor, marking the creation of the first democratic doctrine in the New World. After five weeks they took their buckled hats back on board and sailed farther inland to Plymouth, where they made permanent camp.
Built between 1907 and 1910, the monument commemorates this landing spot. US President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1907, and President William H. Taft dedicated it at its completion in 1910.
Today, the monument is popular with summer tourists, who climb the 116 steps to the top in order to get the best view of Provincetown and the “arm” of Cape Cod available anywhere on The Cape.
Know Before You Go
Follow signs down Bradford Street in Provincetown for Pilgrim Monument. Monument itself can be seen as far away as neighboring towns
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