History Events in Philadelphia

A special guided interpretation of the 1815 engineering marvel that so impressed Lafayette on his Philadelphia visit in 1824 and 1825. Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat who traveled to America and defied his own king to fight in the American Revolution against Great Britain. Lafayette was 19 when he first came to America in 1777 to fight for its freedom. When he returned in August 1824 for his farewell tour he was 67. The tour, originally intended to last four months, triggered such intense public enthusiasm that Lafayette stayed for thirteen months and traveled to all 24 states. At the end of his tour, in the summer of 1825, Lafayette visited Philadelphia once more, specifically to see the dedication of the Fairmount Water Works with a tour by the watering committee. He referred to it as “the perfect embodiment of the American Government, in which were combined simplicity, power, and economy.” This special tour of the Fairmount Water Works will include excerpts from the writings of both Lafayette and his secretary, Auguste Levasseur, about their experience at the site that has now been designated a National Historic Landmark.