Visited: Saturday, August 31, 2019
The smaller, less visited NPS sites often resonate with me more; in no small part I'm sure this is because at those sites one often gets much more attention, and as a result more easily connects with the history underlying the site. The National Parks are great, and the grand scale fits them; for the historic sites, I'll take the small ones every time.
Saint Paul's Church is somewhat unusual in playing some small role in a number of big events, rather than playing a big role in any of them. They tie the church to the right to vote (suppressed among the Quakers locally, before progress was made) and freedom of the press (suppressed by one of those who had stifled the Quaker's vote, which a NYC journalist called him on it), but really the greatest historic significance of the church was it's use - prior to its completion - as a hospital by the Hessians during the Revolutionary War. And of personal interest, given where we went next, Sara Delano Roosevelt's role in the restoration of the historic pews - as a result of which it's something of a view into churches at the time of the Revolutionary War rarely seen.
I do wonder, had the timing been different, if the US Government would have turned away Saint Paul's Church. The loose ties to history leave plenty of stories to tell, but - other sites with more history have been less favorably received.
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