The Winslow house on North Street is a good example of the colonial style of architecture. It was built about 1754 by Edward Winslow, who was a great-grandson of Gov. Winslow, of the colony. He purchased the land from Consider, a grandson of John Howland, who was one of the “Mayflower” passengers. Additions have recently been made to the house which is now owned and occupied by Mrs. C. L. Willoughby. In this house then owned by her father, Charles Jackson, Miss Lydia Jackson was married to the famed scholar and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
[Illustration: WILLIAM HARLOW HOUSE, 1677.]
The Sergeant William Harlow House was built in 1677 of timbers from the fort on Burial Hill, which was taken down at the close of the King Phillip War. It has recently been purchased by the Plymouth Antiquarian Society and is now open to the public.
On the corner of Main and North Streets, built in 1730, still stands the house of General John Winslow, who removed the Acadians from Nova Scotia. This was also the home of James Warren, President of the Provincial Congress.
By the State census of 1920 the population of Plymouth was 13,032. The total valuation in 1920 was $20,854,025, of which $15,573,175 was real estate, and $5,280,850 personal. The number of polls assessed was 3,523 and the acres of land assessed 50,269. Tax rate, $22.80 on $1,000. The funded debt January 1, 1920, was $188,533 of which amount $42,933 was water debt, leaving but $145,600 funded for other purposes. This is extremely moderate in comparison with the value of the town’s municipal property and assets, which are net aggregated.
Few towns are better provided with city conveniences. A system of public works, introduced in 1855, supplies the inhabitants with pure water from the great ponds that lie in the woods a few miles south of the town. Excellent drainage is secured by an extensive system of sewers, the main outlets discharging in deep water of the harbor 1500 feet from the shore. The main thoroughfares are lighted by electricity, and both electricity and gas are in use for illuminants in public buildings, stores, factories and dwellings. Court Street and Main Street, from the N. Y., N. H. & H. railroad station to the head of Water Street, comprise the “Great Whiteway” system of arc lighting from underground wires, with very satisfactory results. These lights were turned on in the evening of March 1st, 1916, the occasion having been made an impromptu celebration, in which several thousands of citizens of Plymouth and neighboring towns took part. Electric street railways furnish connection with the adjacent towns, and are a source of much pleasure in summer for trolley trips to the beaches, hotels, and suburbs.