James Wilson House Site (Fort Wilson)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Fort Wilson original-site plaque, 300 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
MARKER
VISITOR INFORMATION
Confirm the current marker position before assigning a precise GPS pin. Do not substitute a different James Wilson residence or the later Dr. James Wilson House on Walnut Street. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: Published Fort Wilson plaque coordinate on James Wilson’s former property at 300 Walnut Street, southwest of Third and Walnut; not a different Wilson residence. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: Exterior plaque at the former house property. Do not enter adjacent private property or assume that the historic house survives. Public toilets at the plaque itself remain unverified; the nearby visitor-center option is described below. Parking researched October 3, 2026: Nearby paid AutoPark at Old City serves an exterior-plaque visit at 300 Walnut Street. Walk to the plaque; parking does not authorize entry to private property.
Visitor information batch 2 — reviewed October 3, 2026: Nearby public restrooms are at Independence Visitor Center, Sixth and Market Streets. NPS lists daily 9 am–5 pm opening and no entrance charge. Walk there using public streets; these are visitor-center facilities, not toilets in the former Wilson house property.
Free exterior historical marker; no separate ticket or staffed hours. View only from authorized public areas and follow any posted property-access rules. Associated buildings, grounds, museums or tours may have separate hours and admission.
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
May-June or September-October for a generally comfortable exterior Fort Wilson history stop in Philadelphia. Use permitted public pavement near Third and Walnut Streets and arrange any guided city interpretation separately.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About James Wilson House Site (Fort Wilson)
James Wilson’s Philadelphia residence became known as Fort Wilson during a violent confrontation on October 4, 1779. Wilson and associates sheltered inside while militiamen attacked the house. A plaque near Third and Walnut Streets commemorates the episode in a redeveloped urban setting.
Wilson’s original residence no longer remains at the former property. The Fort Wilson plaque at 300 Walnut Street provides a commemorative reference. The name describes a house used as a refuge during a riot, rather than a purpose-built military fort or a surviving fortification.
History happened here at James Wilson House Site (Fort Wilson)
Wartime shortages, inflation, and resentment of suspected profiteering sharpened political divisions in Philadelphia. On October 4, 1779, armed militiamen confronted merchants and political opponents. James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and members of his circle took shelter in his brick house at the southwest corner of Third and Walnut Streets.
The confrontation became an armed attack, giving the residence the name Fort Wilson. Joseph Reed and the City Troop helped bring the violence to an end. The episode reveals conflict within the Revolutionary population over economic hardship and political power. Its location was an ordinary city residence caught in civil unrest. The later plaque preserves the association after the original house and surrounding streetscape changed.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 2, 2026. Event IDs 0aeefa21-5a49-4c96-8b02-ed7b75dd2b25; Events Latest 10PM.csv rows 31.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo214769/pdf/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo214769.pdf
https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/fort-wilson/
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. Published Fort Wilson plaque coordinate on James Wilson’s former property at 300 Walnut Street, southwest of Third and Walnut; not a different Wilson residence.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=214213
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: Fort Wilson plaque at 300 Walnut Street.
Prose batch 2 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Lost house, not standing fort. Casualty totals omitted for later proofing.
Parking researched October 3, 2026. Philadelphia Parking Authority lists AutoPark at Old City, 125 South 2nd Street, open 24 hours daily. Nearby paid AutoPark at Old City serves an exterior-plaque visit at 300 Walnut Street. Walk to the plaque; parking does not authorize entry to private property.
https://philapark.org/autopark-at-olde-city/
Visitor information batch 2 — reviewed October 3, 2026
https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencevisitorcenter.htm