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JACKSON – On Thursday, Feb. 27 the Town of Jackson will celebrate the Bicentennial of Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour visit to Northampton Courthouse (present day Jackson).

Lafayette visited the town on Feb. 27, 1825.

In 1824, U.S. President James Monroe and Congress invited Lafayette to visit the United States, in part to celebrate the nation’s upcoming 50th anniversary. He traveled to all 24 states as “The Nation’s Guest” along with his son George Washington Lafayette, and his private secretary Auguste Levasseur.

At the time of his visit, Lafayette was the last living Major-General from the Revolutionary War, and he was feted and exulted at every stop. You might say he was America’s first “rock star.”

Lafayette and his entourage traveled to “Northampton Courthouse” after making a brief stop to greet well wishers at Zion Church near Conway. Lafayette was greeted at the Courthouse by the official State Delegation of North Carolina, which included Judge John Louis Taylor, the first Chief Justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court, and Colonel William Polk, an old friend and battlefield compatriot. Lafayette and his party then dined at the Calvert Tavern, which stood close to where Lafayette Park stands today.

In a re-creation of the event held 200 years ago, “Gen. Lafayette” and his entourage will arrive at 12 noon in front of the Historic Northampton County Courthouse in a horse-drawn carriage with the sound of bells ringing throughout the town. He will then be welcomed by the official State Delegation just as he was on February 27, 1825.

The horse-drawn carriage will then make brief stops at Lafayette Park and the nearby mural depicting Lafayette’s historic visit to Jackson, painted by esteemed local muralist Napoleon Hill. Lafayette and his party will then proceed to the Bay Sire Bistro for a period dinner featuring a re-enactment of the dinner given to Gen. Lafayette at the Calvert Tavern. The dinner will include a proclamation from the Mayor and the customary 13 toasts.

While the dinner is by invitation only, and is currently full, all other events are free and open to the public, including an exhibition room at the Bay Sire Bistro featuring The American Friends of Lafayette (AFL) traveling panels depicting his life, along with a museum quality memorabilia exhibit featuring material culture dating to the time of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour.

At the conclusion of dinner, Julien Pierre Icher, founder and president of The Lafayette Trail, and a Lafayette scholar, will give a lecture on Lafayette’s 1824-1825 Farewell Tour, as well as sharing some interesting information in connection to his recent tour of La Grange, Lafayette’s country estate in France.

In addition to “Lafayette Day,” the Northampton Memorial Library in Jackson will be showing the PBS documentary “Lafayette – The Lost Hero” at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 13 and at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 15. The Northampton County Museum, located next to the library, has a permanent Lafayette exhibit featuring some material culture dating from the time of his tour.

For further information, call Jim Gossip at 252-308-8059.