3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Eastern
Two hundred years ago, Revolutionary War hero Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, embarked on a tour of the United States, making stops in twenty-six towns in Connecticut, including Madison, still then known as East Guilford. Although fifty years had passed since the end of the war, Lafayette was revered by Americans, and thousands of people lined up to greet the French military leader as he proceeded on his route through many shoreline towns.
His visit to East Guilford was brief but memorable. On August 21, 1824, Lafayette stopped at the home of Captain Curtis Wilcox, East Guilford’s postmaster. Wilcox operated the town’s post office from his stately home on the Boston Post Road, across from the town green and the meetinghouse. Captain Ichabod Scranton, a prominent member of the community, arranged for 100 other local citizens to salute Lafayette on the occasion.
On Saturday, August 24, the Madison Historical Society will commemorate this important occasion with a reenactment on the town green at 3 pm. Reenactors will play the roles of Lafayette, Captain Wilcox, and others believed to be present at the time. Attendees are invited to Lee’s Academy for light refreshments after the event, which is free of charge and open to the public.
Displayed within the Madison Center for History and Culture at Lee’s Academy, at 14 Meetinghouse Lane, will be items from the MHS collection that relate to the Marquis and to the era of the American Revolution.
The restoration, preservation, and repurposing of the lower level of Lee’s Academy as the Madison Center for History and Culture was made possible by a Good to Great grant from the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development.
For more information on Lafayette’s 1824 tour and upcoming commemorations of this historic event throughout Connecticut, visit https://lafayettecttrail.org/. For more information on the MHS’s August 24 reenactment, visit madisonhistory.org.(phone: 2032454567)
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