Tour Highlights

Boston

We will begin our adventure Tuesday in Boston traversing the Freedom Trail, visiting ancient burial grounds at The Granary, Kings Chapel and Copp’s Hill, along with historic patriot gathering places like Faneuil Hall, Old North Church and Old South Meeting House telling the stories of the liberty, conspiracy and victory that forged our nation’s independence. We will finish at Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution, America’s oldest commissioned naval vessel and veteran of the War for Independence.

Wednesday, we will walk the battlefields where the first military engagements of the War for Independence were fought beginning with Lexington — site of the “shot heard ’round the world”. We will travel on to Concord and charge over the Old North Bridge, driving the British back where they came before, scaling Bunker Hill to hear the remarkable accounts of that singular battle in the heart of Boston.

You’ll return from your trip with a renewed sense of gratitude and respect for these true founding fathers who sacrificed all they had to forge the liberty we now enjoy.

Plymouth

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together. And… by the goodness of God we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.” —Edward Winslow, 1621

Thanksgiving is America’s holiday and Plymouth is the symbol of where our national celebration began. We will spend Thursday on a walking tour of Plymouth, exploring the many monuments and museums as our tour historians tell us of the brave men and women who seeded the country almost 400 years ago. We will learn about the people, places and events of the beginning of our country as we walk along Town Brook on the same paths our forefathers walked centuries ago. We will visit the grave sites of our ancestors and become acquainted with the thoughts of these remarkable people. Discover why the Pilgrims changed from communal living to land ownership, and how this change led to the beginning of free trade, industry and capitalism in our country. Hear about the relationship between the Pilgrims and Natives and how they worked together in support of each other. Stops include Burial Hill, Pilgrim Mothers Monument, Plymouth Rock, Brewster Gardens, Pilgrim Hall Museum and the National Monument to the Forefathers!

Friday we have a great day planned at Plimoth Plantation, the 17th-Century English Village re-creation of the small farming and maritime community built by the Pilgrims on the New England shore now inhabited by the best Pilgrim reenactors we know. We’re in for a real treat as we partake in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the New England trimmings among Pilgrim role players at Plimoth Plantation.

Ipswich / Salem

We have arranged a special treat for our guests this year, a bonus day in Ipswich and Salem with local expert Dr. Paul Jehle, pastor and Executive Director of the Plymouth Rock Foundation. The Ipswich Town Seal declares it is “The Birthplace of American Independence” yet the date given is 1687 almost a hundred years before the Declaration! Come on this tour and hear the rest of the story! You’ve heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but what really happened and what can we learn from them? Dr. Jehle shares his unique insight and sound scholarship on the ground where it happened.

The Tour was fantastic! I had exceptionally high expectations entering the tour and you managed to exceed even this high bar! Well done Landmark Events!! I highly recommend [these tours] to others seeking to learn more of the Godly heritage and the providential history of sacrificial actions that have been handed down to our generation of Americans.” —Scott Z.

Event Speakers

Event Schedule

Note: Schedule days and venues subject to change.

Accommodations

We have secured the rooms at the Best Western Cold Spring in Plymouth. Tour guests are welcome to book rooms wherever suits them best, however, bear in mind that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings the bus will depart from our headquarter hotel, and we will also host our after dinner discussions there. While the tour officially ends on Friday, November 17, Plymouth’s fantastic Thanksgiving Parade takes place on Saturday, November 18, so you may consider staying over that night.

All rates based on single/double occupancy (plus 11.7% lodging tax). Additional person in a room, 12 and over, after the first two: $18.00 per night.

Alternative accommodation ideas can be found at VRBO.com and Airbnb.com where there are several houses and apartments to choose from. Guests are responsible for their own transportation around Plymouth.

Study Preparation

Key People

Key Issues and Topics

Suggested Reading

• Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford
• John Winthrop, by Francis J. Bremer
• The Puritan Experiment, by Francis J. Bremer
• The Puritan Family, by Edmund Morgan
• The Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals, 1596-1728, by Robert Middlekauff
• Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were, by Leland Ryken
• The Guise of Every Graceless Heart, by Terrill Elniff
• The Minutemen and Their World, by Robert A. Gross
• Now We Are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill, by Thomas J. Fleming
• Paul Revere’s Ride, by David Hackett Fischer
• The Boston Campaign, by Victor Brooks
• Driven to Resistance, Vol. 1, by R.A. Sheats