Plymouth is located 14 miles west of Beatrice on highway #4. "Old Plymouth" was located 3 miles south and one mile west of the present town of Plymouth. September 18, 1872 the plat of the original town of Plymouth no known as "Old Plymouth" was filed for record. At this time the school and the first Plymouth congrational church were probably there. The post office was established in 1872.It is reported that at one time ten grist mills and fifteen saw mills were at work in the vacinity of "Old Plymouth." One type of business that never existed in the Plymouth colony was a saloon.
The settler who arrived in the area generally came from five different regions, the New England states, the West (Midwest states), Prussia, Canada, and Europe. As with all frontier towns agriculture was the backbone of "Old Plymouth." Soon after the farming industry became established, the farmers were able to produce more than was needed by their families and operations. This overproduction led to many other businesses that began to shape the occupational structure of "Old Plymouth." This overproduction also caused a need for the railroad. The railroad would not put a track into "Old Plymouth" because the town was sitting too low on Cub Creek. The grade in either direction was too steep for the trains to climb if they stopped in "Old Plymouth." The railroad was one of the reasons why new Plymouth is where it is presently. The first establishment to recognize the move was the Post Office. A lot of other businesses followed.
The failure to secure a railroad line hastened the end of "Old Plymouth," and by 1890 the village had but all disappeared. In 1891 the Post Office was moved first to a farmhouse, and later to the Parsonage of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, one mile west of the current sight of Plymouth, and the Rev. E. Strube served as postmaster.
Plymouth was given a second chance by the Rock Island Railroad when it constructed a line from Lincoln to its tracks at Jansen and past through "Old Plymouth." The Rock Island to put a siding in old Plymouth, however since the town's location near the bottom of Cub Creek resulted in an uphill grade for trains starting out in either direction. Instead a depot was built 3 miles north and 1 mile east on the divide between Cub Creek and Dry Creek where the trains could start downhill in either direction. The present town of Plymouth was founded in 1892. The original quarter of land for Plymouth was purchased from Otto Knoche. When selling this land he kept a five acre field between the town and his farm.
While "Old Plymouth" had been founded by people from English descent, the new townand the areas surrounding it was settled almost exclusively by German settlers.
Currently, the town's largest business is the Farmer's COOP Elevator Company, and there are about 33 different businesses in the area.
The decline of the rural population in Nebraska has resulted in the consolidation of school districts throughout Nebraska. Since the closing of the Plymouth Public School (district #98) in 1966 the educational needs of the community are met by Tri County Public Schools (district #300). Tri County is a K-12 school located 4 miles east and 2 miles north of Plymouth. St. Paul's Lutheran Parochial School located on Highway #4 in Plymouth provides a Christian education for grades K-8.
Churches serving the area include St Paul's Lutheran Church (Wisconsin Synod), Peace Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), and Peace United Methodist Church.
Plymouth is known throughout the area for its Veteran's Day Celebration sponsored by the Ameican Legion Post #243 and Auxillary. This annual event has been held continuously since 1947. AT one time Plymouth like other area towns promoted an annual picnic.
In 1905 the volunteer fire department was organized. In 1913 Plymouth's new water system was completed. The cost was 3,950 dollars. It is a hundred and ten feet high and is made of steel and holds 50.000 gallons. In 1914, 3,000 feet of water mains were installed. In 1917 the town voted to go dry. Both saloons closed. Meyer and Fatum reopened reopened as Meyer and Fatum soft drink parlor. In 1920 work started on new electric line from Beatrice to Plymouth. In 1930 one of WPA project was digging new water mains on Main Street. Contract for a new auditorium was granted to W. H. Bartels for 6,950.00 in 1941. In August of 1956 a new sewer system was installed. In January of 1970 the first March of Dimes cake back was held. Over 100 men each baked and decorated their cake, no cake mixes were used and the public gave the bakers a lot of heckeling. The first cake bake netted 2000.00 for the March of Dimes. We had a cake bake each year until 1974. This auction netted 8,377.00. Some of the Nebraska football players were invited for the auction, which include Jeff Kinney and Jerry List. Two of the cakes sold for over 1000.00 each, and 13 went for over 100.00.
Then in 1984 the Plymouth school builing was razed. And in August of 1992 Plymouth celebrated their Centennial. This is just a few of the things that went on in Plymouth's history.