The Legacy of Parting Ways

Championing the Legacy of Parting Ways: A Living Monument of Memory and Meaning

By Community Art Collaborative

In a quiet corner of Plymouth, Massachusetts, there is a sacred piece of land called Parting Ways. To the casual passerby, it may seem like any other small cemetery. But for those who know its story — and for those of us working to make sure more people do — it is a site of profound American history, resilience, and legacy.

Parting Ways is the final resting place of four African American veterans of the Revolutionary War: Cato Howe, Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamony Quash. After fighting for a nation's freedom, these men settled on the very land they helped protect, building a self-sustaining community that thrived through strength, skill, and shared purpose. Their story is not only one of survival, but of sovereignty — a bold claim to space, dignity, and a future, in a time when such things were rarely afforded to Black Americans.

But for years, this story remained nearly forgotten. That changed thanks to the vision and tireless advocacy of Rev. Dr. Robert Gomes.

A Monument in the Making

In the 1970s, Rev. Dr. Gomes began working to preserve Parting Ways, seeing it not as a relic of the past, but as a living monument — a place still speaking. Through his spiritual and academic leadership, he partnered with the federal government to secure historic status for the land, ensuring its protection as a site of national importance. But he didn’t stop there.

Working with renowned anthropologist Professor James Deetz, Rev. Dr. Gomes initiated an archaeological excavationof the Parting Ways homestead, uncovering powerful material evidence of the community that once thrived there. Through buttons, pottery and fragments of everyday life, the voices of these early Black residents began to rise from the soil.

His paper, “Monument in the Making,” presented at Harvard Divinity School, was more than academic — it was a call to remember. A call to acknowledge that Black Americans were not just footnotes in the founding of this nation, but architects of its possibility.

A Legacy Carried Forward Through Art

At Community Art Collaborative, we’re honored to carry this work forward. For years, we have created public art installations across the town of Plymouth, embedding the names of these four veterans — Cato, Prince, Plato, and Quamony — into public art, programming, and community-based storytelling projects. Many people don’t realize it, but these names live quietly throughout our work, honoring those who came before us and the land that holds their memory.

As stewards of this story, we are now actively partnering with the Town of Plymouth to support the historic preservation of the cemetery and the activation of the space through public art. This includes plans for an open-air sculpture garden (once approved), community workshops, and place-based educational materials designed to engage people of all ages — especially young people — in understanding the power of hidden history.

This Is More Than History — It’s Healing

Parting Ways is not just a cemetery. It is a testament. A reminder that the American story is not whole without these men. That dignity, resistance, and contribution are part of our inheritance. And that ART can be a powerful bridge between memory and momentum.

Thanks to the groundwork laid by Rev. Dr. Gomes, and the artists, educators, and historians who have followed his lead, the legacy of Parting Ways is no longer buried. It is rising.

And we are listening.