Plate depicting the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, ca. 1820
Item 84 info
Maine Historical Society
Maine was part of Massachusetts when the Pilgrims—perhaps the most legendary immigrants to America—arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. They were among the first people who permanently moved to America for religious reasons.
Relocating in the “new world” was as much an economic as spiritual endeavor for the Pilgrims. By 1625, their search for resources led them north, where the Pilgrims established a fur-trading operation in what is now Maine; around 1628, they founded Cushnoc, a trading post in what is now Augusta. Maine’s fur trade industry was a much-needed infusion in the Pilgrim’s economy, and allowed them to pay off their debt to investors in England.
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