Plymouth DPW, Volunteer Move Quickly To Clean Historic Monuments

PLYMOUTH, MA – The Plymouth Department of Public Works, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and a local volunteer moved quickly on Presidents Day to clean up vandalism to some of the town's most historic monuments and landmarks. Graffiti was spray painted on several of the monuments — including the "1620" inscription on the iconic Plymouth Rock — overnight Sunday, but by Monday night Plymouth Town Manager Melissa Arrighi reported most of the vandalism had been scrubbed away.

She said the DCR Forefather's Monument and flooring of the Half Shell Band Stand were cleaned, and that DCR crews were busy working on Plymouth Rock. She said Plymouth DPW had cleaned four scallop shells vandalized.

"May need a little more love in few spots," she said on the town's Facebook page, "but they look beautiful again."

She thanked the hard work of volunteer Jake Mowles, of East Coast Power Washing, for helping restore the Bench at Brewster Gardens that was presented to Plymouth by the National Society of Daughters of the American Colonists in 1923.

"This cleaning involved some final specific removal of paint that seeped into the stone by volunteer Jake Mowles," Arrighi said.

She said DPW crews also cleaned the Pilgrim Maiden Statue in Brewster Gardens and Mowles performed some testing so he could come back and use a different chemical solution to finish up the job.

"Without the tireless efforts of volunteer Jake Mowles and his expertise we would not have advanced nearly this far," Arrighi said. "Our gratitude goes out to him and his love for the town. And to our own Public Works employees — you did absolutely remarkable. Without your swift action, this could possibly have caused permanent damage."

Arrighi said on Monday that Plymouth police were investigating the incident.

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