Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration added to Town Tours & Village Walks
Lafayette day is July 26, 2025
May 7, 2025
Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration
in Chadds Ford and West Chester
added to Town Tours & Village Walks
Saturday, July 26, 2025 is national Lafayette Day!
WEST CHESTER _ Chester County’s yearly Town Tours & Village Walks program added a special event this year, the national Lafayette Bicentennial celebration event taking place in West Chester and Chadds Ford.
“The national spotlight will focus on our community,” said Bruce E. Mowday, chair of the Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee. “We’re pleased that the Chester County Planning Commission added our day to the county’s highly successful Town Tours & Village Walks program.”
In 1824 and 1825, Frenchman Lafayette, a Revolutionary War American hero, returned to the United States as the “Nation’s Guest.” For 13 months, Lafayette toured all 24 states and received grand welcomes from each city and hamlet he visited.
On July 26, 1825, Lafayette visited the Brandywine battlefield where he was wounded on September 11, 1777, and later in the day West Chester where he was given a grand dinner.
This year, a celebration at 10:00 a.m. will begin at Thornbury Farm, 1256 Thornbury Road, West Chester, on the Brandywine battlefield. During the afternoon in West Chester, a procession to Marshall Square Park, where Lafayette spoke in 1825, will take place along with an event at the historic courthouse on High Street where a recreation will take place of the toasts given during Lafayette’s grand dinner. The Chester County History Center is hosting Lafayette’s Ball that evening.
“Details of the day’s events and the evening Ball are being finalized. We’re getting many requests for tickets! This will be an event not to be missed,” Mowday said. “The whole day will be a grand celebration. Our day is part of the American Friends of Lafayette 13-month national celebration. The festivities began in New York City in August 2024 with a parade on Broadway and numerous events, including a reception at the French Consulate. For more information on the national celebration, see www.Lafayette200.org. Information on the West Chester and Chadds Ford celebrations can be found on Facebook at Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine Committee page.
“One of the Chadd’s Ford highlights is a heritage walk from Thornbury to Birmingham Hill where Lafayette was wounded,” Mowday said. “When Lafayette spilled his blood that day, he began his ascent as an American hero.” Mowday, who authored the books Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero, Lafayette: America’s Young Hero & Guest, and September 11, 1777, will lead the walk.
A Lafayette interpreter approved by the American Friends of Lafayette will be part of the programs.
“The day will be fun and filled with history,” Mowday said. “We’re urging everyone to join us.”
The Lafayette Bicentennial Brandywine celebration and Chester County’s Town tours & Village Walks are both partners of the county’s 250th celebration of our nation’s founding. Information on the 250th can be found at www.america250chesco.org. For Town Tours & Village Walks, see www.chescoplanning.org/historic/towntours.
New in 2025!
A Killer at the Door: The Dramatic Prison Break and Manhunt for Convicted Murderer Danilo Cavalcante
Schiffer Publishing releases Bruce E. Mowday’s new book on the escape of crab-walking murderer Danilo Cavalcante from Chester County Prison. A Killer at the Door details the two-week search for Cavalcante and his capture and the terror experienced by community members. The story was followed internationally. Contact Bruce at mowday@mowday.com for signed copies!