It is further possible that an early age some of the eldest of the Mayflower passengers may have imparted this information to Elder Faunce directly. During the war of the Revolution, an attempt was made to remove the rock to Town Square, there to be viewed as an emblem of liberty, civic and religious. In the operation of lifting, the upper portion split away, leaving the base in its original bed. This top portion was, however, transferred to the square, where it remained until 1834, when it was taken to Pilgrim Hall and placed within an iron fence at the left of the entrance. In 1880 it was moved back and cemented to its original base. In the vicinity where the Rock now rests there were once many wharves and industrial enterprises. Plymouth was then an active and busy seaport but all this was changed when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts bought this land in 1920 and made it into a reservation. The memorial pictured below, standing close to the Rock and Peristyle, is symbolic of the part played by the women of the Plymouth Colony in shaping the destinies of this, the first permanent settlement. Their courage and fortitude fill a glorious page in the annals of American colonization. [Illustration: MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN By C. T. Jennewein “Erected by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in Memory of the Heroic Women of the Mayflower 1620-1920.”] COLE’S HILL [Illustration: {Illustrated capital}] Rising directly back of the landing place is Cole’s Hill, named after James Cole who settled here in 1633 and who died in Plymouth in 1692. Here lie those who died the first fateful winter. The hardships of the voyage and the lack of proper accommodations after the landing developed much sickness, which made frightful inroads on the little colony, their number being reduced one-half during the first few months, and those remaining being “scarce able to bury the dead.” [Illustration: SARCOPHAGUS—COLE’S HILL] They were reduced so fast and to such an extent that it was deemed wise to conceal the graves, so they planted corn that Indians might remain in ignorance of their great losses. At various times in the process of excavating, human remains have been uncovered. These were carefully re-interred and a granite slab bearing an appropriate inscription now marks the spot and conveys to the visitor a mute attest to the sacrifices of those who contributed their part in shaping the destinies of our country.