The Plymouth colony prospered after the first winter and came to be the second lasting English settlement. Plymouth was established in 1620 by the pilgrims. The population of Plymouth started out small with only 102 people, with only half surviving the first winter. After the first winter Plymouth began to prosper. The climate helped keep some diseases at bay. The settlers of Plymouth were hard workers and quickly built plank houses, a meeting house, and gardens. At first the Pilgrims faced minimal threat from the Wampanoag tribe because many died from the smallpox epidemic of 1618. Meanwhile the population of Plymouth colony steadily increased reaching a height of only 7,000 people in 1691.
Settlers of Plymouth drafted and signed the Mayflower