What happened to the Mayflower after Plymouth?
Learn about the Mayflower, the ship that took the Pilgrims from England to Massachusetts.
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News •
‘Landman’ star Billy Bob Thornton to host FOX Nation series on Mayflower voyage
• Oct. 28, 2026, 3:59 PM ET (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Transcript
The Mayflower sailed from England on September 6, 1620, heading for the New World.
Though the Pilgrims’ journey is an iconic one, not much is known about the ship that made it possible.
Few records exist prior to its purchase by English merchant Christopher Jones in 1608.
While historians can make assumptions based on similar ships from the time period—it likely weighed about 180 tons and measured 90 feet long, for instance—the original ship no longer exists to prove those guesses right or wrong.
The fate of the Mayflower after its North American voyage is another mystery lost to time.
Some theorize that after it returned to England, it was scrapped for timber and used in construction projects....Still, the original beams have never shown up.
The Mayflower’s journey to fame began when it was chartered by a group of English investors called the Merchant Adventurers, who hoped to make their fortune in the fur trade.
When some members of their group dropped out, they offered to sell passage to the Pilgrims—devout Christians who disapproved of the Church of England and intended to found their own religious community elsewhere.
Both parties intended to settle near the Hudson River, a site now in New York state, where the English government had already approved their claims. However, bad weather pushed the Mayflower off course.
After a 66-day voyage, the ship landed hundreds of miles north of its intended destination.
The company had reached Plymouth: a cold and inhospitable spot they would now call home.
Though the Pilgrims’ journey is an iconic one, not much is known about the ship that made it possible.
Few records exist prior to its purchase by English merchant Christopher Jones in 1608.
While historians can make assumptions based on similar ships from the time period—it likely weighed about 180 tons and measured 90 feet long, for instance—the original ship no longer exists to prove those guesses right or wrong.
The fate of the Mayflower after its North American voyage is another mystery lost to time.
Some theorize that after it returned to England, it was scrapped for timber and used in construction projects....Still, the original beams have never shown up.
The Mayflower’s journey to fame began when it was chartered by a group of English investors called the Merchant Adventurers, who hoped to make their fortune in the fur trade.
When some members of their group dropped out, they offered to sell passage to the Pilgrims—devout Christians who disapproved of the Church of England and intended to found their own religious community elsewhere.
Both parties intended to settle near the Hudson River, a site now in New York state, where the English government had already approved their claims. However, bad weather pushed the Mayflower off course.
After a 66-day voyage, the ship landed hundreds of miles north of its intended destination.
The company had reached Plymouth: a cold and inhospitable spot they would now call home.
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