Cincinnati Celebrates the 200th Anniversary of Lafayette’s Visit

Two hundred years ago this spring, the Marquis de Lafayette stopped in Cincinnati, Ohio during his Farewell Tour of America. In honor of the bicentennial of his visit, there will be a series of public celebrations, hosted by Cincinnati-area Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Friends of Lafayette, the Cincinnati-Lafayette Masonic Lodge No. 483, and the Alliance Francaise de Cincinnati.

Monday, May 19, 2025 – Welcome Ceremony for Lafayette, Dinner/Costume Ball

11:00 AM – Ceremony to welcome Lafayette at the Public Landing, the exact location where he was received in 1825. An interpreter will portray Lafayette in period clothing and language, and Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney will give remarks.

6:30 PM to 10:30 PM – Lafayette 200 Dinner and Costume Ball at Cincinnati Masonic Center at 317 E. Fifth Street. Keynote speaker is Julien Icher, President and Founder of The Lafayette Trail, Inc. Lafayette artifacts will be on display. Link to buy tickets:
http://www.annualcommunication.com/

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 – Tribute Program, Spring Grove Cemetery

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Tribute program at Spring Grove Cemetery at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue with historians and podcasters Tristra Yeager and Eleanor Rust. They will speak about Fanny Wright, a close friend of Lafayette’s who was born in Scotland in 1795, joined him on his Farewell Tour, and settled in Cincinnati where she died in 1852.

Wright was a thought-leader of her time who influenced Lafayette in the belief of equality between men and women. Both Lafayette and Wright will be represented by period interpreters. Following the presentations, a wreath-laying ceremony takes place at Fanny Wright’s gravesite. Free and open to the public. Link to RSVP: http://www.annualcommunication.com/

Ongoing Programs

There is an exhibit of Lafayette-themed rare books and artifacts in The Cincinnati Room at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County at 800 Vine Street, and a display of artifacts at the Cincinnati Museum Center at 1301 Western Avenue in front of the Cincinnati History Library and Archives on the lower level. Educational materials for school-age children are available at library branches. Displays are on view now.

About Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in 1824-1825
Lafayette was invited to return to America with the hope that he might bring a renewed unity and patriotic fervor back to American citizens being torn apart by a divisive presidential campaign. Lafayette gladly accepted the invitation to return to the country where he fought along-side George Washington in the American Revolution and helped to secure our independence. Lafayette’s tour covered more than 6,000 miles, traveling to all 24 states and “Washington City.”

About the Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour
The American Friends of Lafayette is recreating his Farewell Tour by following the same itinerary he used in 1824-1825 with events to be held in all 24 states and 290+ cities visited by Lafayette. The goal is to “Celebrate, Commemorate and Educate” with an emphasis on human rights, Franco-American Alliance, and linking the past to the present. For more, visit http://www.Lafayette200.com