The Mayflower was the famous ship that transported the Pilgrims from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony) in 1620. The vessel left England on September 6, and after a gruelling journey marked by disease, the ship dropped anchor inside the hook tip of Cape Cod (Provincetown Harbor) on November 11 (dates in Old Style, Julian Calendar). The Mayflower originally was destined for the Hudson River, north of the 1607 Jamestown Settlement. However, the Mayflower went severely off-course as the winter approached and remained in Cape Cod Bay (mapped in 1602 by Gosnold).
On March 21, 1621, all surviving passengers, who had inhabited the ship during the winter, moved ashore as Plymouth Colony, and on April 5, the Mayflower, a privately commissioned vessel, returned to England (details below).
In 1623, a year after the death of captain Christopher Jones, the Mayflower was most likely dismantled for scrap lumber in Rotherhithe, London, England.