'The First Landing Place of the Pilgrims, Nov 11, 1620, O.S. The map in mourt's relation shows that near this spot The Pilgrims first touched foot on American soil. The Pilgrims were English Separatists who founded (1620) Plymouth Colony in New England. In the first years of the 17th century, small numbers of English Puritans broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. Long Point to Fall River The southernmost tip of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stretches approximately 100 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. This wonderful peninsula is known as Cape Cod - the north side shore opens to the cool waters of Massachusetts Bay while the southern beaches reach to the warm and gentle waters of Nantucket Sound. Centrally situated is the Town of Barnstable with shorefront on both north and south coasts.