The Old Colony Club

A bronze tablet affixed to a boulder on the lawn of the Old Colony Club declares:

The Old Colony Club
Organized January 13 1769
Founders

This Club had the distinction of holding the first public observance of Forefathers’ Day, on Dec. 22, 1769. At one of the first meetings it was voted: “that Friday, December 22 be kept by this Club in commemoration of the landing of our worthy ancestors in this place.”

The day was celebrated by the firing of a cannon, the display of a handsome flag upon the Club house, a procession of the members, who were greeted by a volley of small arms and a patriotic song by assembled school children, a dinner, and an evening entertainment.

The next year, 1770, at the anniversary celebration, Edward Winslow Jr. delivered a short address, which may be considered the first public commemoration of the Pilgrims. This inaugurated a series of speeches and orations given for many years by prominent men, sponsored at first by the Old Colony Club, later by the town and the parish of the First Church, and continued by the Pilgrim Society and the Plymouth Antiquarian Society.

Due to an error in reckoning the date, December 22 was long celebrated as Forefathers’ Day. The anniversary actually falls on December 21, and is now so observed.

The Old Colony Club was dissolved just before the Revolution, due to the conflicting politics of its members. It was later reorganized, and is one of the leading clubs of the town.