HISTORY:
Plymouth (historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest municipality in Massachusetts by area. The population was 51,701 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2008 population of 58,681. Plymouth is one of two county seats of Plymouth County, the other being Brockton. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, which is, in turn, named after its location at mouth of the River Plym.  Plymouth is best known for being the landing site of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. Founded in 1620, Plymouth is the oldest municipality in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. It also is the oldest continually inhabited English settlement in the modern United States. The town has served as the location of several prominent events, the most notable being the First Thanksgiving feast. Plymouth served as the capital of Plymouth Colony from its founding in 1620 until the colony's dissolution in 1691.

Plymouth is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Boston in a region of Massachusetts known as the South Shore. Throughout the 19th century, the town thrived as a center of ropemaking, fishing, and shipping, and once held the world's largest ropemaking company, the Plymouth Cordage Company. While it continues to be an active port, today the major industry of Plymouth is tourism. Plymouth is served by Plymouth Municipal Airport, and contains Pilgrim Hall Museum, the oldest continually operating museum in the United States.  As one of the country's first settlements, Plymouth is well-known in the United States for its historical value. The events surrounding the history of Plymouth have become part of the mythology of the United States, particularly those relating to Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving.

DEMOGRAPHICS:
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,701 people, 18,423 households, and 13,264 families residing in the town; by population it is the second?largest town in Massachusetts, after Framingham. It is also the 21st?largest municipality in the state. The population density was 536.0 inhabitants per square mile (207.0 /km2).[40] There are 21,250 housing units, at an average density of 85.1 /km2 (220 /sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 94.82% White, 1.91% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population.  There are 18,423 households out of which 36.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 21.7% of all households are made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.16.  In the town the population is spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $54,677 as of the 2000 census, and the median income for a family was $63,266.[42] Males had a median income of $44,983 versus $31,565 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,732. About 4.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

GOVERNMENT:
Plymouth is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the First and Twelfth Plymouth Districts. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Plymouth and Barnstable district, which also includes Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Plympton, Sandwich, and part of Barnstable. On the state level, primary but shared patrolling responsibility of the town's limited access highways falls upon the Seventh (Bourne) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.  On the national level, Plymouth is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, John Kerry, was reelected in the 2008 election. On the local level, the town uses the representative town meeting form of government, led by a town manager and a board of selectmen. The current acting town manager of Plymouth is Melissa Arrighi.  Plymouth has a centralized municipal police force, the Plymouth Police Department. The town also has a professional fire department, with seven firehouses spread around the town.[48] There are also seven post offices for the town's five ZIP codes, with one in the downtown area, one in North Plymouth, one in Manomet, one in White Horse Beach, one near the Plymouth Municipal Airport, one in the South Pond neighborhood, and one near the town forest in "The Village Green" shopping area of The Pinehills.   The town has a public library, with a branch location in Manomet. Both libraries are a part of the Old Colony Library Network, which services 28 libraries throughout the South Shore. Additionally, as a seat of Plymouth County, there are several county facilities located in Plymouth. These include a County farm, the Registry of Deeds, two jails (the Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Plymouth and the Plymouth County Correctional Facility) and the County Courthouse

EDUCATION:
Plymouth operates a large school system, with an enrollment over 8,000 students. The Plymouth School District is one of the largest in the state, operating 14 schools. This is six more schools than the Massachusetts average of eight. The school district operates 86 school buses under contract with First Student bus company.  The schools of Plymouth include the Mount Pleasant Preschool, eight elementary schools (Cold Spring, Federal Furnace, Hedge, Indian Brook, Manomet, Nathanial Morton, South and West Elementaries) which generally serve students from kindergarten to fifth grade, two middle schools (Plymouth Community Intermediate and Plymouth South Middle) which serve grades 5-8, and two high schools, Plymouth North and Plymouth South. Both high schools play in the Atlantic Coast League, and the two schools share a rivalry with each other. Students who decide to receive a technical education have the option of attending Plymouth South Technical School.  There is also a charter school in the town, Rising Tide Charter School, which serves middle school-aged children. Two special education schools, the Baird School and the Radius Pediatric School, are located in the town.
The town has two institutions of higher learning. Quincy College has a campus located in Cordage Park. The Plymouth campus opened in 1991, and the college's main campus is in Quincy. Curry College has a campus at the northern edge of Plymouth Center in the Citizens Bank building. The campus opened in 1994, and the main campus is located in Milton. While the University of Massachusetts Boston does not have a campus in Plymouth, it offers some courses at another location in Cordage Park.

TRANSPORTATION:
Plymouth lies along the "Pilgrims Highway" portion of Route 3, which is the major route between Cape Cod and Boston. The town can be accessed from six exits on the highway, which is more than any other municipality along the Pilgrims Highway. Plymouth is also the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 44. The route has changed recently, as a new divided highway section has linked it to Route 3, before heading south and exiting at its old location before terminating at Route 3A, which more closely follows the shoreline and passes through Plymouth Center. Route 80's western terminus is at its intersection with old Route 44. Route 25 goes through a remote section of the town north of Buzzards Bay, but does not have an exit. Finally, the short Plimoth Plantation Highway allows easy access between Routes 3 and 3A, with an exit that allows direct entry to Plimoth Plantation's parking area. The highway is north of Manomet and south of Plymouth Center.