November 11, 1620 - Puritans Land at Plymouth Rock

On November 11, 1620, forty-one Puritan separatists landed at Plymouth Rock in present-day Massachusetts. Fleeing the persecution of the Church of England, the Puritans set sail on the Mayflower, desiring to worship as they wished and not as their king expected them to. They originally planned to land further south, but they ran low on supplies, forcing them to land sooner.