Here you can follow Paine’s life journey through images of the different monuments, historical markers, landmarks and homes that form part of his amazing legacy. From his birth in Thetford, UK to his death in New York City, Paine lived a life of amazing action and profound impact. Enjoy!
A plaque at the birthplace of Thomas Paine in Thetford, England erected by the Antiquities Borough of Thetford. Paine was born here on January 29, 1737 – FlickrThe “Old School” at Thetford Grammar School. This was a one-room school at the time Paine was a pupil from 1744 to 1749 – British Listed BuildingsPaine returned from his life as a privateer and moved to this white building in Sandwich, UK in 1759. He opened a staymaking shop and married Mary Lambert on September 27, 1759, but the business did not succeed and Mary unfortunately died in childbirth along with the baby – FlickrA plaque marking the George Hotel in Grantham, UK where Paine lived from 1762 until 1764 while employed as an excise officer – Photo by Iain StandenA plaque marking the building in Alford, UK where Paine worked as an excise officer from 1764 to 1765 at the customs office on this site – Photo by TonyMo22This plaque is attached to a building at Bull Lane in Lewes, England and informs visitors that Thomas Paine lived in this house from 1768 to 1774. – Photo by Simon HarriyottBull House, an inn located at 92 Lewes High Street in Lewes, England where Paine lived from 1768 to 1774. Paine lived here after coming to Lewes to take up a position as an exciseman. He found lodging with Samuel Ollive – an established and respected grocer and tobacconist. In 1771, Paine married Elizabeth Ollive, the daughter of his recently deceased landlord. It was whilst living at Bull House that Paine wrote his political pamphlet ‘The Case of the Officers of Excise’ in 1772, asking Parliament for better pay and working conditions for excisemen. He frequently participated in political debates here and formed many political connections – Photo by PoliphiloA marker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania indicating the location of Robert Aitken’s printshop with the inscription reading in part, Aitken ‘published the Journals of Congress, its official proceedings, and The Pennsylvania Magazine which introduced the writings of Thomas Paine to America’. The marker was erected in 2012 – Pennsylvania Historical and Museum CommissionA marker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the inscription, ‘At his print shop here, Robert Bell published the first edition of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet [Common Sense] in January 1776. Arguing for a republican form of government under a written constitution, it played a key role in rallying American support for independence.’ The marker was erected in 1993 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission – Photo by J. J. PratsA plaque in Fort Lee, New Jersey claims to mark the site where Paine’s ‘The Crisis’ pamphlet was conceived as he fled the British invasion on New York with the American army – Historical Marker DatabaseA plaque at “New Bridge Landing” in River Edge, New Jersey that marks the location of a key bridge built in 1745. Describing the American retreat from Fort Lee on November 20, 1776, eyewitness Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis, “Our first objective was to secure the bridge over the Hackensack, which laid up the river between the enemy and us”. It is here where British troops attacked the American rear guard on November 21, 1776. New Bridge served as a battleground. The plaque was erected by Bergen County Historical Society – Photo by Bill CoughlinA marker in New Brunswick, New Jersey shows the house of Henry Guest. A 1951 New Brunswick Sunday Times article theorizes Thomas Paine’s rumored stay at his friend Guest’s house may have been in early December 1776, where he was in hiding just before the city fell to the British. Paine is said to have been in the midst of writing ‘The American Crisis’ during his stay – Photo by Bill CoughlinA marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission shows Francis Bailey’s Printshop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The inscription reads, “Francis Bailey, official printer to both the U.S. Congress and the Commonwealth, operated a printing office on this site from 1773 to 1780. Here, he produced many historic imprints including Thomas Paine’s ‘Crisis No. 4′” – Pennsylvania Historical and Museum CommissionCookes House, also known as Tom Paine’s House, is a historic home located at 438-440 Codorus Street in York, Pennsylvania. It is believed to have been the home of Paine while the Second Continental Congress convened in York from September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778 – Library of CongressA marker in Bordentown, New Jersey shows the location of the house Thomas Paine bought in 1783 where he lived periodically until his death. Bordentown is the only place in the world where Paine bought property. The marker was erected by the State of New Jersey – Photo by Devry Becker JonesThomas Paine’s writing table where he wrote the second part of Rights of Man (Part Two) in 1792 while staying at the home of his friend Thomas Clio Rickman at number 7 Upper Marylebone Street, London. The table is part of the collection of Thomas Paine artifacts at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, England – Ordinary PhilosophyA sign at the Old Red Lion Theater Pub in London says “On this site in 1791 Thomas Paine wrote part of ‘Rights of Man (Part Two)'”. It was published in February 1792. Soon after, Paine was forced to flee to France as the British monarchy became more hostile following the popularity of Rights of Man – Photo by Matt BrownThe entry of the Hotel de Monnais on rue Guénégaud in Paris, the site of the famous salon owned by Sophie de Grouchie and her husband, the Marquis de Condorcet, where Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith and Benjamin Franklin were regular guests. In 1791, Grouchie translated two articles written by Paine – Ordinary PhilosophyThe Paris site of the mansion farmhouse Thomas Paine shared with six others in 1793. In Paine’s time, the address was number 63 but it’s now numbered 144 Rue Faubourg Saint-Denis – Ordinary PhilosophyThe Luxembourg Palace, now the Senate Building of France, was made into a prison during the French Revolution. Paine was arrested on December 28, 1793 and imprisoned here until November 1794 – Ordinary Philosophy95 Rue de Richelieu, Paris is the former residence of James Monroe, at that time the American Ambassador to France. Paine lived here for the two years following his release from prison in 1794 – Ordinary PhilosophyA plaque on the house of Paine’s friend, printer and writer Nicholas de Bonneville, reads: “British by Birth, American by Adoption, French by Decree, Thomas Paine lived in this building from 1797–1802, where he placed his passion for Liberty at the service of the French Revolution, becoming a Deputy to the Convention which wrote The Rights of Man” – Wikimedia CommonsThe Thomas Paine Cottage in New Rochelle, New York. The New York State Legislature awarded Paine 320 acres in New Rochelle in 1784 for his service in the Revolutionary War after confiscating the land from a British loyalist. Paine lived in this cottage periodically from 1802 to 1806 – US National Park ServiceA drawing of Cornelius Ryder’s house at Number 293 Bleeker Street in Manhattan where Paine lived with Madame Bonneville and her two sons until May 1809. Paine can be seen sitting in the window – The New York Public LibraryA map showing the residences of Thomas Paine before and at the time of his death on June 8th, 1809, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The map was made in 1864 for David T. Valentine, C.C. by John Randel and is oriented with north to the upper right. – The New York Public LibraryThis plaque hangs on the outside wall of a brick building on Grove Street in Greenwich Village in New York City on the site where Thomas Paine died on June 8, 1809. It was placed on the June 9th, 1923 by the Greenwich Village Historical Society – FlickrThis plaque describes the history of Barrow Street in New York City, named after artist Thomas Barrow, and its previous name, Reason Street in honor of Paine’s “The Age of Reason” that was changed after a campaign by anti-Paine churches in the area – Researching Greenwich Village HistoryPaine’s New Rochelle Monument is a 12-foot marble column marking his burial site. Paine’s New Rochelle In 1837, Gilbert Vale, editor of the New York Beacon, started a subscription for the purpose of erecting the monument that was dedicated on May 30th, 1881. Sculptor William Macdonald created the bronze bust that was placed upon the monument on May 30th, 1899 – FlickrThe Thomas Paine historical marker in New Rochelle. The marker says in part, “Paine buried here until 1819” – FlickrThis plaque is attached to the wall of the Thomas Paine Hotel in Thetford, England. The plaque is dated October 21st, 1943 and was erected during World War II through the ‘voluntary contributions of soldiers of an American Airforce Group’ – Photo by Jim LinwoodThe bronze bust of Thomas Paine at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in Bronx, New York City. was sculpted by Malvina Hoffman in 1945. It is located on the campus of Bronx Community College – Westchester County Historical SocietyA statue of Paine in Morristown, New Jersey sculpted in 1950 by Georg J. Lober. It shows a seated Paine with a musket using a drum-head as a makeshift table.The Thomas Paine statue in the Parc Montsouris, in Paris, France. It was dedicated in 1948 and created by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, It depicts Paine standing before the French National Convention to plead for the life of King Louis XVI – Ordinary PhilosophyThe Paine monument in Thetford, England, the birthplace of Paine, with a quill pen in his right hand and an inverted copy of The Rights of Man in his left. It was sculpted by Sir Charles Wheeler, President of the Royal Academy, and erected in 1964 – Geograph projectThe Thomas Paine Obelisk located in Angel Square in London. It was created by the artist Kevin Jordan and the sculpture was unveiled on June 13, 1991. It commemorates the 200th anniversary of the publication of Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’, which he is believed to have started writing at the historic Angel Inn nearby. Each face of the bronze obelisk is decorated with relief work and inscriptions – Photo by Matt BrownA bust of Thomas Paine at the Leicester Secular Hall in Leicester, England is part of a series called “The Five Busts” by the sculptor Ambrose Louis Vago. It was created in 1881 – MayhematicsThe statue of Paine in Bordentown, New Jersey was erected in 1997 by the Bordentown Historical Society.A sculpture of Paine by sculptor Marcus Cornish, interpreting the author as taking human form from stone. The sculpture was commissioned by an anonymous donor and unveiled outside the Lewes Library in Lewes, UK by British Politician Tony Benn in July 2010 – Lewes Town CouncilA marker erected by NYC Parks in Thomas Paine Park in next to City Hall in New York City – Photo by Larry GertnerThomas Paine Plaza is an open space park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and named in honor of Paine. It surrounds the city’s Municipal Services Building across from Dilworth Park and City Hall – Photo by Shana McDanoldThe long-planned $20 million redesign proposal for Center City’s Thomas Paine Plaza with a tentative start date in 2025 – Philadelphia Department of Public PropertyZenos Frudakis, a world-famous sculptor, at work capturing Thomas Paine’s essence. This clay model is displayed in the Frudakis Studios in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The Thomas Paine Memorial Association is raising funds to use Frudakis’ sculpture to raise a long-overdue monument to honor Thomas Paine in Washington D.C. – See more information.
To our nation’s discredit, Thomas Paine, the man Thomas Jefferson called “the Father of the Revolution,” has no national memorial in Washington, D.C. The Thomas Paine Memorial Association was founded to raise a long-overdue monument to honor Thomas Paine in the heart of our nation’s capital. Read about their efforts and give your support by clicking here.
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![Marker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the inscription, ‘At his print shop here, Robert Bell published the first edition of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet [Common Sense] in January 1776. Arguing for a republican form of government under a written constitution, it played a key role in rallying American support for independence.’ Erected in 1993 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission – Photo by J. J. Prats](https://thomaspaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/thomas-paine-common-sense-788x1024.jpg)
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