August means a lot to PMPM, especially when it comes to the Pilgrim Monument. The cornerstone was laid in August 1907 and the Monument was completed during the same month in 1910. Rising 350 feet above sea level from atop High Pole Hill, it remains the tallest all-granite tower in the U.S., delivering stunning views of the harbor, coast and region. It’s a powerful tribute to history-shaping events and a beacon for a place known as being welcoming and accepting.

The Monument commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing and their signing of The Mayflower Compact, the first document aimed at self-governance in the New World. Both occurred in November of 1620 in Provincetown, where the Pilgrims found safe harbor after being blown off course. Here, they spent five and a half weeks before reboarding The Mayflower and continuing on to Plymouth. 

The Pilgrim Monument, Cape Cod’s oldest non-profit, has evolved into the current-day PMPM. 

August and a curious history

Not only does this month mark the roots of our origins, it reminds us of some of the prominent visitors who came to Provincetown to celebrate the Monument during the month of August. 

On August 20, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt set the cornerstone for the tower, giving the main speech in what some described as an imposing Masonic ceremony. He arrived in Provincetown Harbor on the morning of the event, having sailed from his home on Long Island aboard the presidential yacht named… the Mayflower.

Once completed, a dedication was held on August 5, 1910. Again, there was a strange coincidence: The date was the anniversary of the day the Pilgrims set sail for the New World. An elaborate ceremony took place, attended by President Taft. Once again, a U.S. President traveled here aboard the yacht Mayflower, dropping anchor in nearly the exact spot as the Pilgrims’ original ship had in 1620.

Provincetown and the Monument are rich in history – and curious coincidences.

The star of our show

Throughout the year we’ll fly various flags to celebrate the different cultures that comprise our town, light the Monument to support causes, various events and more. As such, the Monument itself has become a shining star of Provincetown. The following are just a few of the many interesting facts about its construction, use and more.

• The tower’s designer was Architect Willard Thomas Sears. He was also behind such noteworthy commissions as Boston’s Old South Church, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Campobello Park in New Brunswick, Canada. The tower design was patterned after the Torre Del Mangia in Siena, Italy.
• The granite used came from Stonington, Maine. Each stone was the thickness of the wall, the first piece of granite put into place weighing 4,000 pounds.
• The U.S. government retained the right to use the Monument during wartime until 1959. It functioned as a lookout in WWI and WWII; many thought it housed secret communications experiments. On a side note, according to the book “Cape Odd,” just a month prior to America entering WWI, playwright Eugene O’Neill – whose first play debuted in Provincetown – was arrested with a friend while walking near a wireless station in North Truro. Erroneously suspected as German spies, they spent a few hours in a jail in the basement of Provincetown’s town hall before being released.
• No workers were seriously injured or killed during the Monument’s construction – an amazing accomplishment for such a project in itself. However, unfortunately, the tower’s construction did take a life. On August 5, 1908, a motorized rail car resting atop the hill was hit by lightning which caused it to careen down the hill and into 84-year-old widow Rosilla Bangs. It would then proceed to crash through the fence of a home owned by Enos N. Young, the same town clerk who would later sign her death certificate.

Some things never change

Following the dedication ceremony, a dinner was held at the Town Hall. Afterward, the people wanted to continue celebrating so, outside, electricians continued to hang strings of bulbs, lighting the Monument in time for nightfall, prompting festivities that carried late into the evening.

That, too, is history repeating itself – but there’s nothing curious about it. In Provincetown, we’ve always worked and played hard. Some things never change – nor would we have it any other way.

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