This article originally appeared on the William G. Pomeroy Foundation website.
Soon this New England city of 75,000 residents will be among 170 communities across 25 states and Washington, D.C., with a newly minted historical marker commemorating Revolutionary War General Lafayette’s triumphal journey across a young and starstruck United States in 1824-1825.
Pawtucket’s historical marker will ceremoniously bookend a far-reaching endeavor by the Maryland-based nonprofit, The Lafayette Trail, to recognize Lafayette’s legacy in every state he visited as the “Nation’s Guest” some 200 years ago. All 170 bicentennial markers on the trail were funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, a philanthropic organization in Syracuse, N.Y., whose mission supports the commemoration of history by providing fully funded grants for markers nationwide.
Celebrations for Lafayette Trail markers from West Point to Yorktown and from sites up and down the Mississippi River and Eastern seaboard have evoked an excitement that echoes the enthusiasm of Lafayette’s farewell visit 200 years ago. Lafayette’s legacy and the nation’s friendship with France have endured. Read more...
