Lafayette remembered in Scenery Hill
Historic marker unveiled on National Road
Revolutionary War hero Gen. Marquis de Lafayette’s local legacy has been immortalized in Scenery Hill, thanks to a historic marker that was unveiled to the public on Friday afternoon.
The plaque, located at the corner of the National Road and Fava Farm Road, commemorates Lafayette’s 1825 visit to then-village Hillsborough during his national tour to celebrate America’s 50th anniversary.
The effort to install the marker was spearheaded by the nonprofit Lafayette Trail Inc., which promotes Lafayette’s significance in revolutionary era history, in collaboration with the non-profit William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
Lafayette Trail has installed 201 other markers across the country in recognition of various aspects of the noted Frenchman’s life.
According to Lafayette Trail Founder Julien Icher, Lafayette symbolizes the important bonds of friendship between the two countries and the shared values of kinship and democracy, which were reignited during the general’s visit.
According to North Bethlehem Supervisor James Dudt, Lafayette’s story is inseparable from America’s founding.
“Two hundred years ago, the Marquis de Lafayette traveled this route from Washington to Brownsville and stopped here, in what was then Hillsborough, for breakfast,” he said. “Though brief, that visit reminds us that history is shaped not only in capitals and on battlefields, but also in communities like this one.”