Kosciuszko's Land Grant Turned into Public Park

When local resident Deborah Solove realized that she was living near a portion of Kosciuszko's former lands that had been taken from his estate, she talked with the city's Director of Parks & Open Space, Fred Hahn. Hahn said that he had never heard of Kosciuszko, "So I went down to the Dublin public library and checked out a book called The Peasant Prince by this guy named Alex Storozynski and really became fascinated with the life and times of Kosciuszko."
 
This kicked off a process by the City Council to set aside a portion of this land to be named Thaddeus Kosciuszko Park, which today includes a series of educational signs regarding Thaddeus Kosciuszko, as well as 1.7 miles of trails, fishing ponds and a gazebo.

"Years ago, this land was taken away from Kosciuszko," Solove said. "Now, the city of Dublin gave it back."
 
Kosciuszko played a pivotal role in the American Revolution and stood up for the rights of African slaves, European peasants, Jews, Native Americans & women. After coming up with the winning strategy for the Battle of Saratoga, Kosciuskzo drafted the plans for West Point that Benedict Arnold tried to sell to the British. Kosciuszko left his salary from the Continental Army with Thomas Jefferson and asked that it be used to purchase and free slaves.  
 
To celebrate the new park, the City of Dublin held a celebration of Kosciuszko and Polish food, dancing and music, which included members of the Kosciuszko Foundation's Ohio Chapter, the Columbus Polish Club, the Polish American Cultural Center of Cleveland, and local Polish schools and dance troupes.
 
The community also invited Ohio State University President Gordon Gee who has come under fire for telling Polish jokes. Gee did not show up, even though the university is in Columbus, which borders Dublin. A report last week in the Dayton Daily News found that Gee has spent at least $840,000 in university funds on travel over the past five years.
 
"People have come from all over, from Cleveland, Chicago, from Poland and even Australia," Storozynski said in his opening remarks. "It's too bad that Gee did not come, maybe he would have learned something. Maybe it was not in his travel budget."

CLICK HERE to learn more about The Kosciuszko Foundation
CLICK HERE to read more about Thaddeus Kosciuszko

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