Marion Hopkinson Playground

Hopkinson Ave. bet. Marion St. and Chauncey St.

Brooklyn

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This playground honors two American patriots, Francis Marion (1732-1795) and Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791).

Born in the colony of South Carolina, Francis Marion joined the local militia when neighboring Cherokee tribes began conducting raids along the colony’s western border in 1759. He reenlisted with the militia when the American Revolution (1775-1783) began. After the British took control of Charleston in 1780, Marion started a guerrilla war based in South Carolina’s swamps. His ability to lead his men deftly and stealthily through this terrain is how he became known as “The Swamp Fox.”