Winthrop was settled in 1630 by English Puritan colonists as Pullen Poynt
(Pulling Point), so named because the tides made hard pulling for boatmen. The present town is named after John Winthrop
(1587–1649), second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and an English
Puritan leader. On April 8, 1630, Winthrop departed from the Isle of Wight, England
on the ship Arbella, arriving
in Salem in June where he was met by John Endecott, the first governor of the
colony. John Winthrop served as governor for twelve of the colony's
