Lafayette250 celebration - Jamestown, VA

Name: Lafayette250 celebration - Jamestown, VA
Start: 2026-01-10T14:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-10T15:00:00-05:00
Location: Jamestown Beach Event Park

Schedule

Sat Jan 10 2026 at 02:00 pm to 03:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Jamestown Beach Event Park | Jamestown, VA

We are beyond thrilled to announce an upcoming Lafayette event in James City County, Virginia, to be held on Saturday, January 10th, 2026, at 2 pm ET. This event will kick off the Lafayette250 celebrations for the year 2026.
During his triumphant return to the United States in 1824 and 1825, General Lafayette boarded the steamer "Petersburg" in Jamestown on October 22nd, 1824, following public honors in Yorktown and Williamsburg. The Frenchman's next stop would be Norfolk, Virginia, where he would arrive later that day.
Most primary source newspaper accounts only report that Lafayette boarded the "Petersburg" in Jamestown, though an 1827 French map lists the "Ruins of James T" as a stop on the Lafayette Trail, suggesting a more robust connection with the area, in which he had already spent time during the American Revolution.
If you wish to attend the unveiling of the Jamestown marker, please know that there will be no admission fees or registration. The event is entirely free of charge and open to the general public. Just show up and come make history with us! This event promises to be a lot of fun, with reenactors, an artillery piece, and yes... even a CANNON SALUTE, provided courtesy of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The marker will be installed at Jamestown Beach Event Park (2205 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185) at 2 pm ET on Saturday, January 10th, 2026, in collaboration with James City County, Virginia. The site is directly off Jamestown Road/ Virginia Route 31, to the northwest of the Jamestown Settlement. Plenty of free parking will be available on site.
This event is part of our ongoing collaboration with the Virginia Society Children of the American Revolution under the leadership of its state president, Meredith Hopkins. It comes after the very successful event held on November 15th, 2025, in Yorktown, Virginia, in the presence of the York County Board of Supervisors Chair Sheila Noll, to commemorate the 241st anniversary of Lafayette's November 15th, 1784, visit to Yorktown.
Passing on the story of the American Revolution to future generations was always one of the key missions that Lafayette championed in this country. The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is proud to continue that tradition with this collaboration with Virginia CAR. We thank its leadership for partnering with us on this momentous occasion.
Additionally, we would like to thank the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, James City County, the James City County Parks and Recreation, the Jamestown Settlement and its parent organization (the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation), and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources for their support of this new Lafayette initiative in James City County.
We anticipate the event to be over by 3:00 pm ET. Once again, this patriotic function is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. We hope you will be able to come and kick off 2026 with us! To find out more about this event, please visit lafayette250.org/events or send us an email at the following email address: [email protected].
2024 and 2025 were incredible years for Lafayette. 2026 will be epic for the United States, Lafayette, and The Lafayette Trail. With the bicentennial anniversary officially behind us, we are now going full speed ahead with our brand-new Lafayette250 campaign to make sure Lafayette is properly recognized in the upcoming America250 celebrations!
We look forward to seeing you at Jamestown Beach Event Park on Saturday, January 10th, 2026!