Reading Marks Visit From Gen. Lafayette

READING, MA — A nearly 200-year old visit from general and Revolutionary War Hero Marquis de Lafayette was back in the spotlight in Reading last week as area leaders gathered to celebrate a new marker commemorating Lafayette.

Located at the Latham Law Offices Building on Main Street in Reading, the marker recalls a visit from Lafayette to the then nearby Skinner’s Hotel on June 21, 1825. That visit was part of a nationwide tour by Lafayette on invitation from President James Monroe.

Born in France, Lafayette played a major role in both the French and American revolutions in the late 1700s, serving under George Washington as a general in the Continental Army.

Decades later, his U.S. tour included multiple stops in the Greater Boston area, where he was met with large crowds of supporters.

The path of Lafayette’s tour is now marked by the Lafayette Trail, which seeks to memorialize various stops that Lafayette made ahead of the bicentennial of those visits. The network of markers currently includes memorials in states from Mississippi to Vermont.

Representatives of the French Consulate in Boston were in attendance at last week’s event in Reading alongside local leaders and state legislators.

“Wonderful ceremony to commemorate General Lafayette’s triumphant visit to Reading,” the consulate wrote in a message on its Twitter page.

Among others, the consulate thanked local resident Peter Maquire, who has worked to document Lafayette’s visit to Reading through various means, including a history published last year in the Reading Post.