America's Smallest National Park

America’s smallest National Park, located in Philadelphia is 0.2 acres. In comparison, America’s largest National Park is Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska with over 13 million acres.

1024px-Thaddeus_Koscuiszko_National_Memorial_301_Pine_Street.jpg (279186 bytes)Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, at 301 Pine Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, preserves the home of Thaddeus Kosciuszko. The life and work of the Polish patriot and hero of the American Revolution are commemorated here.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer, utilized his skills for the cause of American Independence, playing a significant role in planning defensive works at Saratoga and West Point.

In the early days of the war, Kosciuszko helped to fortify the Philadelphia waterfront at Fort Mercer. Shortly after, he was transferred to New York, where he helped with fortifications along the Hudson and planned the defense for Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga became known as one of military history’s most famous struggles for independence and proved to be a turning point in the war.

In 1778, Kosciuszko was made chief engineer of West Point, New York. This fortification became known as the American Gibraltar because it was unable to be penetrated by the British Army. Eventually West Point became a military academy.

In 1783, Kosciuszko was appointed Brigadier General and was awarded the Cincinnati Order Medal by General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington also presented Kosciuszko with two pistols and a sword as gifts for his outstanding service to America.

After serving the Continental Army in the American Revolution, Thaddeus Kosciuszko returned home to his native Poland to lead an unsuccessful uprising against Russian forces.

kostiushko_musej_12.jpg (218346 bytes)Kosciuszko returned to the United States to a hero’s welcome after his wounding, capture, imprisonment, and banishment from his native Poland. Kosciuszko’s secretary, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, having been instructed to find "a dwelling as small, as remote, and as cheap" as possible, chose Mrs. Ann Relf’s boarding house at the corner of 3rd and Pine Streets in Society Hill.

While Kosciuszko recuperated from his wounds he was visited by numerous dignitaries of the day, including Vice President Thomas Jefferson, architect Benjamin Latrobe, William Paterson (a signer of the US Constitution), Chief Little Turtle of the Miami people, and Chief Joseph Brant of the Mohawk nation.

The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1970. The National Memorial was authorized on October 21, 1972. It is administered under Independence National Historical Park but is counted as a separate unit of the National Park System.

The site is currently open for touring, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 pm. No fees, tickets, or reservations are required to visit this site. For more information please visit www.nps.gov/thko/index.htm.


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