Kościuszko National Monument – America’s Tiniest National Park – in today’s Wall St. Journal

When I took a look at the Wall St. Journal this morning, I saw an article on page 1 (below the fold) titled “Tiniest National Park Has Hugely Unpronounceable Name.” Curious, I read on — only to find that the U.S. National Park Service’s “tiniest national park” is all about Polish and American hero Tadeusz Kościuszko!

Located in the Philadelphia boarding house where Kościuszko lived from 1797 to 1798, at 301 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, the Monument is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4pm.

The site is within walking distance of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and declared a National Memorial two years later, the exterior of the boarding house was restored to its original condition by the National Park Service.

At just 0.02 acres, the Thaddeus Kościuszko National Memorial tells an expansive story about an international champion of human rights. Thomas Jefferson called Kościuszko “As pure a son of liberty, as I have ever known.”

You can browse the exhibits on the first floor and discover the life and legacy of this Polish military hero and humanitarian. On the second floor, see the restored Kościuszko bedchamber, furnished with period artifacts, and watch a short film in either English or Polish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for the Kościuszko National Monument website, which has lots more information about this “tiniest national park.”

Read the Wall St. Journal article online or in pdf.

Click here for our earlier blog post about Kościuszko, his life and his role at West Point.