Where Will We Live?

Having taken their first steps on American soil on a Saturday, the next day, being a Sunday, was spent on board the Mayflower in worship and fellowship. Once Monday came work began on a number of important tasks following the journey from Europe.  The four sections of the shallop, a small boat that had been carried aboard in pieces, were taken ashore for reconstruction, though this took much longer than expected due to damage caused during the voyage.   

In America, the passengers of the Mayflower were able to wash their clothes for the first time since leaving England.

Another key job was cleaning clothes. During the voyage washing clothes (a role at this time which was carried out by women) had not been possible so once on dry land they found a freshwater pool (which is near the location of modern Provincetown).  For generations to come, in New England, Monday would be wash day, a tradition founded by the women of Mayflower. The passengers and sailors also took the opportunity to gather fresh sea food, which caused some of them to be sick! 

On shore, the Shallop could be fixed and assembled.

The other key task they had was to explore the area. This would not have been so critical had they landed as planned at the mouth of the Hudson River, but now they there were somewhere they did not know.  Exploration, however, was not going to be as easy as hoped as they were unable to use the shallop. Therefore, by the Wednesday it had been agreed that sixteen men would row ashore across what is now Provincetown harbour and explore the area by foot. This will be the subject of a coming blog. ​

No clean clothes since September? Phew, what a relief washing them must have been!

These scenes were built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the voyage of the Mayflower. Follow us on  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.