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Secondary sourcePhotograph2010-03-01

Von Steuben Headquarters Building, Valley Forge

Smallbones · 2010-03-01

A modern photograph of a fieldstone building at Valley Forge traditionally linked to Steuben's wartime quarters.

Traditionally associated with Steuben's quarters at Valley Forge, though the exact location remains disputed by historians.

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Two-story fieldstone building with a gray shingled roof, two stone chimneys, white-trimmed multi-pane windows with white shutters, and a white front door with a small transom. Leafless trees stand on the left and a clipped evergreen hedge runs along the front; snow patches lie on the grass.
Building known as "Gen. Frederick Von Steuben Headquarters," Valley Forge National Park. Photograph by Smallbones, 2010.

About this source

What it is

This 2010 photograph shows a two-story fieldstone building in Valley Forge National Park known as the "Gen. Frederick Von Steuben Headquarters." It is a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.

Why it matters

The building's connection to Steuben is uncertain. The National Park Service no longer identifies this exact structure as his headquarters on its maps, and historians have debated the true location of his quarters both before and after 1972. Steuben likely used more than one building during his time training soldiers at Valley Forge.

Look closer

  • Why might the identification of a historic building change over time?
  • What does this uncertainty teach us about relying on old labels and traditions in history?
  • How might historians try to confirm where Steuben actually stayed?

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Handwritten letter in brown ink on aged paper, dated Montpellier 12 March 1773 at top right, addressed 'Monsieur' and written in French in cursive script. It is signed at the bottom right with a closing phrase and the name 'de Steuben'.Letter

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Letter from Montpellier

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben · 12 March 1773

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