The Duxbury Rural and Historical Society is pleased to announce that the annual Clark’s Island Picnic, open to the public, will take place Sunday, July 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Cedarfield on the east side of the island.

The sermon at Pulpit Rock will be given this year by the Reverend Todd Vetter, Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Church of Duxbury.

The Society’s annual picnic on Clark’s Island is an opportunity for visitors to enjoy the historic surroundings of Cedarfield, the second oldest house on the island.  The house was last owned by poet and scholar Sarah Wingate Taylor and donated to the Society nearly 40 years ago by her heirs.  

Clark’s Island in Plymouth Bay was the spot where the first exploring party from the Mayflower washed ashore in 1620.  The group, including William Bradford, Myles Standish, and William Brewster, had been sent out to determine a satisfactory spot for settlement while the Mayflower was anchored off the tip of Cape Cod.  A storm forced them to take shelter on Clark’s Island. On the morning of the next day they walked to the top of the island where there stands an enormous glacial boulder.

As it was Sunday, they there celebrated their first Sabbath ashore in the New World.  It was also on this spot that they elected to establish their plantation at Plymouth Bay.  For these reasons, the outcropping on Clark’s Island is known both as Pulpit Rock and Election Rock.  To commemorate this event, a sermon reflecting on the history of the location and its meaning to current generations has traditionally been given during the Society’s picnic.

All are invited to pack a lunch, head to the Island, and join us for an afternoon of history and fun.  For more information about the event, contact the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society at 781-934-6106 or visit their website at www.duxburyhistory.org.