Parting Ways

Parting Ways is a cemetery and archaeological site in Plymouth that contains burial grounds and household foundations from colonial times. The location preserves physical evidence of a settlement established by four independent residents.

This settlement was established in the late 1700s by four free Black individuals who chose to live independently in Plymouth. Their community persisted for nearly two centuries before the land changed hands.

This place documents the lives of free Black residents who built their own community in 18th-century New England. The burial grounds and homesteads reveal how these families lived independently within colonial society.

The site sits in a quiet area outside downtown Plymouth and is accessible on foot, though finding it requires some planning ahead. Gathering background information before visiting helps you understand what you are looking at among the sparse remains.

The names of the four founders - Cato Howe, Plato Turner, Quamany Quash, and Prince Goodwin - remain recorded in history, giving them individual identity in colonial records. This sets the site apart, as many communities of color from that era left little documented trace of their members.