{"nrhp_refnum":"66000657","name":"Valley Forge National Historical Park","other_names":["See Also:Von Steuben, Gen. Frederick, Headquarters","Washingto"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Valley Forge State Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norristown","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.09921079600005,"lon":-75.44884506171164,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1961-01-20","areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Valley Forge National Historical Park is a historic district of about 3,465 acres in southeastern Pennsylvania, roughly 12 miles west of the Philadelphia city line, spanning Montgomery and Chester counties and containing the winter encampment site of the Continental Army in 1777-1778.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the winter encampment was a turning point in which the Continental Army, despite deprivation, gained strength, rebuilt and reorganized, and emerged in June 1778 able to engage the British at Monmouth. The park's surviving earthworks, sites, monuments and industrial remains are described as relating to this history, and the document states that the encampment's overcoming of practical obstacles makes it as significant as any battle.","narrative":"Valley Forge National Historical Park is a historic district of about 3,465 acres about 12 miles west of Philadelphia, containing the site of the Continental Army's winter encampment of 1777-1778. The army arrived on December 19, 1777, and stayed for six months, during which it built roughly 900 to 2,000 huts, inner and outer lines of earthworks and redoubts designed under Louis Duportail, and a hospital in each brigade. Sullivan's bridge over the Schuylkill was completed by March 1778. The army left in June and went on to fight at Monmouth. The district is regarded as significant because the encampment is where the army overcame severe shortages of food, clothing and tools and developed the discipline and organization that later shaped its success. Surviving earthworks, monuments and sites from the 1777-1778 period and the later 19th-century industrial villages remain within the park boundaries.","period_of_significance":"Mid-18th Century to early 19th century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The park's resources have varying levels of integrity; the document notes that many structures have changed over the years and that the inner line entrenchments remained nearly intact.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.83978-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/66000657.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000657/7d4a58cc9c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000657/7d4a58cc9c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"kinglear55","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Autumn_at_Valley_Forge_-_Flickr_-_kinglear55.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">kinglear55</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Autumn_at_Valley_Forge_-_Flickr_-_kinglear55.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998462","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Forge_National_Historical_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12860064"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/valley-forge-national-historical-park-66000657/"}