June 12th AFL tours -This was a big tour day. We explored some of the sites that Lafayette visited when he was here during the revolution years, and the return trip that he made in 1824 and 1825.
Suffolk, VA - We toured the historic district which included Riddicks Folly, a very expensive mansion for the times, where Lafayette dined on his way through. Heard a lot of the local history, told to us by the local historian, Bill Cole.
We then caravanned over to the nearby historic village of Somerton, where we were given a tour of the earliest surviving building in Somerton, which is the former Washington Smith Ordinary (tavern). Lafayette did stop here to dine. The house is now owned by the descendants, but the costs of renovating it to its original splendor have been prohibitive. They would need an historic non-profit willing to invest in it, and the location is really very isolated, and not good for attracting tourists. So, it was interesting to see and we appreciated the family opening it up for us.
Lunch back in Suffolk and then on to Portsmouth, VA. This was a really fun, interesting and educational historical walking tour of Portsmouth, VA. It was led by an educational/entertainment group that were dressed in historical clothing, and sang many historical songs as they led us on their tour. We started the tour with the Mayor of Portsmouth welcoming us to their city. We were divided into smaller groups, led by two members of the group, and later all joined up again to end at the Marquis de Lafayette Park. Interesting sites, history, and people.
We then had dinner at the historic Hornsby House Inn located in Yorktown, across from the Battle of Yorktown Monument. At the dinner, there was a Lafayette impersonator that came and gave a short speech. It happens that this was the same man who did the Lafayette impersonator for Peter's Lafayette event in Charleton a few years back. Again, a nice evening.
Suffolk, VA photos:
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