Plymouth << PLIHM uhth >>, Massachusetts (pop. 61,528), is often called America’s Hometown. In 1620, colonists from England sailed across the Atlantic in the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth. There, they established the second permanent English settlement in America. Jamestown, Virginia, was the first. Plymouth lies on a harbor, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Boston. Plymouth Rock lies near the spot where the colonists are believed to have landed (see Plymouth Rock). Plimoth Patuxet Museums operates a re-creation of the original settlement and the Mayflower II, built the way the original Mayflower is believed to have looked. Many tourists visit Plymouth, and the town’s economy is based on tourism. The processing of cranberries is also an important economic activity in the area.
