Plymouth, Massachusetts, in Plymouth County, is in the New England region of the United States. Plymouth is an important location with regard to the birth of America. When the passengers of the sailing ship, Mayflower, landed in the new world in 1620, what is now known as Plymouth was the site of their first colony. Plymouth is the oldest town in New England and one of the oldest in America. The town of Plymouth is where the first Thanksgiving feast between the Puritan settlers from England and the Patuxet Native Americans was held. Plymouth was maintained as the capital of Plymouth Colony from its founding in 1620 until 1691 when the colony merged with the Massachusetts Bay colony.
Plymouth is the largest municipality in the state of Massachusetts in terms of land mass. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the 2009 population at 58,681. The Town of Plymouth and the Town of Brockton are the two county seats of Plymouth County. Plymouth is located in a region of Massachusetts known as the South Shore, approximately 40 miles south of Boston.
Plymouth built its local economy with shipbuilding and related ship trades like rope weaving. This industry maintained growth throughout the 1800s into the early 1960s when the last major trade related to boat building closed its doors. The new bus routes, highways, and railways built in the surrounding areas from the early 1970s gave way to better access to the Boston area, enabling Plymouth to join the rest of the region in trade and other commerce.
As Plymouth has grown, so has the entire South Shore area, but Plymouth remains the economic and tourist center for the area. The major industry is tourism, but like its regional neighbors, Plymouth shares prosperity with the same industry leaders in the fields of health care, technical and scientific research, electronics, and telecommunications. Real estate, is now a substantial part of the area’s primary industries. Plymouth has experienced great commercial success in addition to the increased industrial infrastructure due to the tourism trade. The commercial downtown area has flourished, as has North Plymouth, home to Cordage Commerce Center, a large retail development of offices and stores. Colony Place, a large retail development of over 865,000 square feet, is currently the largest open-air lifestyle center in New England. Stylish “boutique malls” are often located in affluent suburban areas.
Despite extensive tourist and hi-tech industrial trades, it is Plymouth’s health care field that is the largest employer. Jordan Hospital is the largest hospital in the southern region of the South Shore and the only major health care provider in Plymouth. Jordan is a community medical center serving twelve towns in Plymouth and Barnstable counties; it consists of more than 30 departments. South Shore Hospital operates several offices and physician labs in South Pond. South Shore Hospital, is the largest hospital in southeastern Massachusetts.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2009 that 74.8% of the non-fatal occupational injuries occurred in service-providing industries. The total recordable case injury and illness incidence rate was highest in 2009 among mid-size private industry establishments employing between 50 and 249 workers, and lowest among small establishments employing fewer than 11 workers compared to establishments of other sizes. This finding fits squarely into the employee statistics of Plymouth’s health care and tourism service industries. The Department of Industrial Accidents is responsible for overseeing the workers’ compensation system in Massachusetts; it is a division of the state Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
