[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E845-E846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM'S 200TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2023

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Pilgrim Hall 
Museum's 200th anniversary.
  Two centuries after the Pilgrims landed, the General Court of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts chartered the Pilgrim Society in 1820 to 
preserve the history of early Plymouth. It was decided that a museum 
should be constructed to tell the Pilgrim's story. Tasked with the 
responsibility of constructing the museum, builders Job and Abner 
Taylor laid the cornerstone on September 1, 1824, and on December 17, 
members of the Pilgrim Society met for the first time inside the 
Pilgrim Hall Museum.
  Pilgrim Hall Museum is the oldest continuously operating public 
museum in the U.S. and is home to a collection of 17th century 
artifacts, including several pieces that were originally on the 
Mayflower. Over the last two centuries, the museum has continued to 
collect artifacts, books, and documents to tell the stories of the 
Wampanoag--who were in Southeastern Massachusetts thousands of years 
before early settlers arrived--and the Pilgrims. Artifacts include the 
Bible of William Bradford; William Brewster's great chair; the only 
portrait painted from life of Edward Winslow; the cradle that Susanna 
White rocked her son, Peregrine, in; and the earliest sampler 
embroidered in America by Loara Standish.
  Of the 33,000 museums in the U.S., Pilgrim Hall Museum is one of less 
than 1,100 museums accredited by the American Association of Museums. 
This is a notable achievement that signifies a museum's credibility and 
quality and further ensures the integrity of a museum's collection.
  In addition to serving as a museum, Pilgrim Hall also hosts lectures 
and small concerts, as well as the Annual Pilgrim Society Meeting, 
which is held on Forefathers' Day in the Main Hall. Today, Pilgrim Hall 
Museum continues to tell the story of the Pilgrims and the

[[Page E846]]

Wampanoag in a manner that is both accurate and inclusive, while 
highlighting and recognizing narratives that have traditionally been 
silenced.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Pilgrim Hall Museum, and I ask that 
my colleagues join me in celebrating this monumental occasion of the 
museum's 200th anniversary and wishing Pilgrim Hall Museum continued 
success in the years to come.

                          ____________________