The Country’s Smallest National Park Site

The smallest site* in the National Park System, the Thaddeus Kościuszko National Memorial in downtown Philadelphia, honors a Polish freedom fighter who helped American colonists during the Revolutionary War and preserves the sweeping history of his life in only about 80 square meters of space.

Who was Thaddeus (aka Tadeusz) Kościuszko? This meticulous engineer and human rights advocate arrived in Philadelphia in 1776 after studying military and liberal arts and serving as an army officer and a tutor in his native Poland. He considered himself a revolutionary and specifically sailed to America to help the colonists’ fight for freedom. The story goes that he read the Declaration of Independence soon after arriving in Philadelphia and was so moved that he wept. He reached out to its author, Thomas Jefferson, and the two men became close friends.

Kościuszko went on to serve as a colonel for the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War; Congress later promoted him to brigadier general. He designed and fortified an array of military sites critical to the fight for American independence, including nearly impenetrable defenses at Saratoga, New York, and significant improvements to the stronghold at West Point, New York.

In one instance, a commander ignored Kościuszko’s recommendations to improve a fortress in Ticonderoga, New York, believing the defense was impregnable. British forces easily captured the fortress in exactly the way Kościuszko had predicted, and American troops were forced to retreat. Kościuszko went on to strengthen military defenses throughout the South and saw significant combat, helping the colonists ultimately win independence. He led a skirmish outside Charleston, South Carolina, in 1782, one of the last military skirmishes of the American Revolutionary War.

After the war, Kościuszko returned to Poland and served in its army during the Polish-Russian War of 1792; he led what is now known as the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794 in a failed attempt to liberate Poland and Lithuania from Russian occupation. Poland lost its independence for more than a century after the uprising, and Kościuszko was seriously wounded in battle and imprisoned in St. Petersburg. He was eventually given amnesty in 1796, with his promise that he would never return to Poland. He lived the rest of his life in exile in a number of European countries, returning briefly to America in 1797.

The .02-acre national memorial site within walking distance of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center is the boarding house where Kościuszko stayed on this second visit to America, years after helping to liberate his adopted countrymen from the British and subsequently failing to prevent an imperial takeover in his homeland. He received visits at the house from notable guests, including Vice President Thomas Jefferson.

Throughout his life, Kościuszko advocated not just for the independence of sovereign states, but also the freedom of individuals, opposing the institution of slavery and instructing in his will that his estate should be used to liberate and educate enslaved Americans — though these instructions were never followed, due to the lack of an executor for his will. His bequest was eventually used to found an educational institution for African American students in Newark, New Jersey.

“He is as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known,” Kościuszko’s famous friend Thomas Jefferson once said of him.

Statues honoring this freedom fighter and equal rights advocate can be found in Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Cleveland and West Point, New York, as well as in cities in Poland.

Want to visit?

You can delve further into the grand history kept alive in this teeny home with a visit to the memorial at 3rd and Pine streets in Philadelphia, which is within walking distance of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. Entrance is free. The site is open Saturdays and Sundays from April to October. Due to limited hours, visitors are advised to call the Independence National Historical Park Visitor Center first at 215-965-2305.

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*Note that the Thaddeus Kościuszko National Memorial is the smallest national park site according to the National Park Service based on the official size of each park unit, but some portions of parks are technically smaller. For example, readers have pointed out that the Seattle Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Site is physically smaller than Kościuszko’s memorial, but because it is measured as one site in combination with the park’s Alaskan acreage, its official size is much larger.

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This is an update to a previously published story. NPCA’s Linda Coutant contributed to this update.