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Mercy Otis Warren, friend of Abigail Adams, wife of Revolutionary War figure James Warren, and author of the first full account of the American Revolution, remains a prominent figure in American history, but a cypher in her own hometown. Statues, busts, and other reminders of the Pilgrims abound, Warren’s boosters say, but residents and visitors can’t find anything to note a local woman who played a prominent role in the Revolutionary period.
“There’s nothing about her in Plymouth,” said Susan SteMarie, who works both as a substitute teacher in the local schools and in a local shop on Court Street, near the building where the Warrens lived. The Winslow Warren House is at 65 Main St., the corner of North Street at Shirley Square – which, she said, was formerly known as Liberty Square. Today the building is home to small businesses, including The Edge pizza shop and La Vie Luna Apothecary.
SteMarie is part of an informal committee advocating for recognition of the Revolutionary War patriot and ground-breaking author. Members believe attention should start at home. They’re pushing for a public program about Warren and her accomplishments to be held during March, Women’s History Month, by one (or more) of the town’s local history organizations.
The group’s members include author Nancy Rubin Stuart, who wrote “The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation,” published by Beacon Press in 2008.
“Plymouth is always associated with the Pilgrims but there’s another reason to honor the town’s legacy,” Stuart said. “Plymouth was also the home of Mercy Otis Warren, the nation’s first woman to write a history of the American Revolution and to advocate for a Bill of Rights.”
As the committee’s plans develop, SteMarie said, she can spread the word. (You can email the group at CelebrateMercyOtisWarren@gmail.com.)
The daughter of firebrand patriot James Otis, a prominent figure in the protest movement that led to American independence, Mercy Otis Warren published poems and plays critical of Great Britain’s rule over the American colonies and urged colonists to resist violations of what she and other patriots believed were their “rights and liberties.” She married Plymouth merchant and politician James Warren, who was a movement patriot as well and later became pay-master general in Washington’s army.
The Warrens’ Plymouth home served as a meeting place for revolutionary-minded colonists such as the Sons of Liberty. Warren later wrote in her history of the revolution that these meetings led to the forming of Committees of Correspondence, the roots of a system of inter-colony cooperation that led ultimately to revolution.
Author Nancy Rubin Stuart is part of an informal local group seeking to being more recognition to Mercy Otis Warren and her time in Plymouth.
After the colonies won their independence, Warren took an active part in the debate over the proposed Constitution, opposing ratification unless a Bill of Rights was added to the nation-founding document.
Two years later, she published a collection of her works, poems and plays, under her own name – a precedent breaking step for a woman. And in 1805 she published one of the first thorough accounts of the Revolution, a three-volume work titled, in period fashion, “History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution.”
But residents and visitors are unlikely to find mention if Warren in Plymouth. “There’s plenty of Pilgrim stuff,” SteMarie said. “But for Mercy Otis Warren, nothing.” No statue, no explanatory postings, no “Mercy Otis Warren Lived Here” signs are visible in the old town center. No marker identifies the site in Shirley Square where the Warrens lived.
Members of the informal committee urging for public recognition of “an amazing woman” born in Barnstable, who moved to Plymouth and played a role in the movement that led to the War of Independence, are holding out hopes for this year’s Women’s History Month. In addition to lobbying the town’s history organizations for programs about Warren, SteMarie said, “Letters to the Town’s Selectman are a great idea.”
Things to do this week and beyond
Monday, Feb. 5
The Manomet branch library hosts “Read to a Dog” from 4 to 5 p.m. Children who are independent readers may sign up for one 15-minute session to read to Tasha, a purebred Maltese who is a Therapy Dogs International certified therapy dog. The opportunity is intended for children under the age of 12. Register here.
Sustainable Plymouth, an all-volunteer organization that seeks to promote practices “that mitigate the degradation of the natural world and prioritize the needs of our ecosystem,” will hold a general meeting at 6:30 p.m. The event is hybrid, available both by Zoom and by attendance in person at Center Hill Preserve, 158 Center Hill Road. Guest speaker Stephen Cole, executive director of the Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation, will discuss “Plymouth’s Blue Economy.” According to Sustainable Plymouth, the concept of Blue Economy “is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.” The meeting will provide updates on what Sustainable Plymouth “has been up to” and the activities of the organization’s “breakout group teams” — education, open space/native plantings, and plastic/solid waste reduction. The meeting is free and open to the public. To participate by Zoom, use this link.
Tuesday, Feb. 6
Uva Wine Bar, 46 Main St., hosts a “Valentine’s Day Cork Art Workshop” from 7 to 10 p.m., putting the wine bar’s many corks to good use. Admission is $45. Tickets are available here.
Teen Writers Hearthside, for ages 13 to 18, meets at Plymouth library the first Tuesday of every month, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to hone writing skills, share writing advice, and meet new friends. Bring a notebook, pen, pencil, or laptop. Warm drinks and snacks will be provided. (Writers are seldom treated this well.) Registration is required. Call 508-830-4250 x210 or email nbennington@plymouth.ocln.org
Wednesday, Feb. 7
Uva Wine Bar, 46 Main St., hosts “Love, Laughter and Light From The Other Side” with spirit medium Tiffany Rice, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Plymouth library offers “Glow in the Dark Science” for ages 6 to 8, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Each month the program will focus on one or more aspects of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) for ages 6-8. Registration is required. You can do so here.
Thursday, Feb. 8
New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey will speak online about the launch of her sports romance duology titled “Fangirl Down,” from 8 to 9 p.m. The event is being sponsored by Plymouth library. You can find out more here.
Friday, Feb. 9
Steve Forbert is coming to The Spire on Feb. 9.
Steve Forbert – who helped pioneer the genre of Americana music before it was called that – and singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston will perform at The Spire from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $28.80 to $32. They’re available here.
Three V Restaurant, 10 Cordage Park Circle, hosts a Valentine’s Dinner and Spirit Messages featuring spiritual psychic medium Lori Sheridan, who connects audience members with their loved ones in “Spirit” from 6 to 9 p.m. Throughout the evening, the medium will share “messages of love and comfort from the other side,” touching as many in attendance as time permits. The purchase of a ticket does not guarantee a reading. Admission costs $75. You can buy tickets here.
Saturday, Feb. 10
“Saturday Stories” at Plymouth library is a half-hour story program that gives parents, caregivers and children 6 and under the opportunity to enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement activities together. It takes place from 11 to 11:30 a.m. No registration required.
Plimoth Cinema, at Plimoth Patuxet Museums, 137 Warren Ave., offers an early Valentine’s dinner and a movie, featuring the classic Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romcom “You’ve Got Mail.” Dinner includes a glass of Prosecco, rolls, salad, choice of red wine, braised short ribs, roasted garlic and lemon chicken breast, or stuffed squash, and a chocolate lava cake dessert. Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by a 7:00 p.m. movie. For tickets go here.
Three V Restaurant, 10 Cordage Park Circle, presents live music by Dylan Wheaton from 6 to 9 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 11
The Church of the Pilgrimage, 8 Town Square, will hold a Black History Month service beginning at 10 a.m. A sermon dialogue entitled “Transfiguration Brings Change” will feature Rel Dowdell, a noted film producer and director, and Rev. Stephen Washburn, moderator of the Ira Reid Foundation. They will address Transfiguration and their collaboration on the documentary “Dr. Ira DeAugustine Reid: Haverford College’s Unsung Scholar Activist.” Reid was the first African American on the faculty of a northern white college.
Poetry The Art of Words, a monthly poetry reading series featuring local and regional poets, hosts poets Glyn Dowden and Wendy Drexler at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, 11 North St., from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. It’s free. For more information visit the website.
The 1620 Winery, located at 55 Cordage Park Circle, presents a raucous “Galentine’s Drag Show and Cocktail Party” beginning at 1 p.m. Ticket price includes the show, and a no doubt welcome mimosa. Tickets are $55, available here.
The Sunday Funday Residency at The Spire presents the South Shore “roots rock” band The Shady Roosters from 2 to 5 p.m. Together for about 25 years, mainly under the name Lonesome Jukebox, the band performs a mix of rockabilly, blues, roots, and country music. Tickets are $5 and sold at the door. Cash only.
Monday, Feb. 12
The Manomet branch of the library presents “Birds of a Feather” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Children will enjoy hands-on activities exploring migration, adaptations, bird diets, and other subjects. Participants will also make and take home their very own pinecone bird feeder. For more information call 508-830-4250, x210.
The Plymouth library hosts True Crime Book Club, in which members discuss a different “true crime” selection every month, from 6 to 7 p.m. This month the club reads “Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobar” by Javier F. Peña and Steve Murphy. Copies of the selected book will be available to check out at the circulation desk.
Tuesday, Feb. 13
All Town Fresh, 22 Long Pond Road, hosts a morning mixer from 8 to 9:30 a.m. for Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce members. Nonmembers can register here.
Wednesday, Feb. 14
La Vie Luna Apothecary, 65 Main St., hosts a “Valentine’s Day Date Night Sip & Pour Candle Making Class,” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For more information call Emily Walsh at 857-526-0211.
Plymouth Library hosts the Wednesday Night Writing Group from 6 to 8 p.m. in the board room. There will be writing prompts available to get you started.
Thursday, Feb. 15
The Terrace Rooftop Dining invites the public to a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of the restaurant,150 Water St., from 3 to 4 p.m. For more information call R. Perkins at
508-830-1620.
Friday, Feb. 16
Local homeschoolers are invited to meet other homeschoolers at the library from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and learn about what library has to offer. Crafts, Legos and board games will be available to play. The activity is intended for families with children of all ages and registration is encouraged. The library notes, however, that “this is not a drop-off program.”
Club 1620 taking place at the 1620 Winery, 55 Cordage Park Circle, invites dance-lovers ages 21 and over to come out for a night of EDM, trance and hip hop music, starting at 7 p.m., and featuring Mass Bay DJ. A cash bar will be open and food will be available for order. Admission is $10 at the door.
Curtis Stigers, singer, sax player, and guitarist performs at The Spire, 25 Court St., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28.80 to $32 and are available here.
Saturday, Feb. 17
Plymouth library hosts “Saturday Stories” from 11 to 11:30 a.m. This half-hour story program gives parents, caregivers and children 6 and under the opportunity to enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement activities together.
Colorfully costumed re-enactors of the New Plimmoth Gard brandish pikes, swords and muskets to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of Plymouth’s first colonial militia at Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court St., from 10 a.m. to noon. The museum will be open free to the public during this special event, including live musket volleys on the museum lawn.
Victoria Coe, the Duxbury-based author of the “Fenway and Hattie” series, the “Make Way for Fenway!” chapter book series, and the middle grade novel “Ezra & The Mouse: The Search for Lafayette,” will sign books at Book Love, 7 Village Green South, from 11 a.m. to noon. The event is free.
Duke Robillard, founder of the legendary band Roomful of Blues, performs at The Spire, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets, $25.20 and $28, are available here.