Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, at 301 Pine Street in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, preserves the home of
Tadeusz (Thaddeus) Kościuszko. The life and work of the Polish patriot and hero of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
are commemorated here.
Kosciuszko returned to the United States in August 1797 to a hero's welcome after his wounding, capture, imprisonment, and banishment from his native
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, which was
partitioned by three neighbouring powers. Kosciuszko's secretary,
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791.
Early life
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, nea ...
, 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
Society Hill is a historic neighborhood in Center City Philadelphia, with a population of 6,215 . Settled in the early 1680s, Society Hill is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia.The Center City District dates the Free Soc ...
. Here, where Kosciuszko recuperated from his wounds while rarely leaving the house, he was visited by numerous luminaries of the day, including
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, architect
Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...
,
Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
William Paterson, Chief
Little Turtle
Little Turtle ( mia, Mihšihkinaahkwa) (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader ...
of the
Miami people
The Miami (Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central India ...
, and Chief
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...
of the
Mohawk nation
The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...
. He returned to Europe the following June to support the restoration of a divided Poland.
The home was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on December 18, 1970. The
National Memorial was authorized on October 21, 1972. It is administered under
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National P ...
but is counted as a separate unit of the National Park System. At 0.02 acre (80 m
2), the memorial is America's smallest unit of the
National Park System
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
The site is currently open for tours, Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. as of August 2022. No fees, tickets, or reservations are required to visit this site.
See also
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List of national memorials of the United States
*
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, National Memorial
Historic house museums in Philadelphia
National Memorials of the United States
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia
Polish-American culture in Pennsylvania
Protected areas established in 1972
Biographical museums in Pennsylvania
National Park Service areas in Pennsylvania
Houses completed in 1775
Monuments and memorials in Philadelphia
Independence National Historical Park
Society Hill, Philadelphia
Houses in Philadelphia
National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Monuments and memorials to Tadeusz Kościuszko
Pennsylvania in the American Revolution
Protected areas of Philadelphia