Lafayette250 Celebration

A Lafayette Trail marker was donated to the Suffolk Visitor Center in 2020 to commemorate Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Suffolk. Our second marker in Suffolk will commemorate Lafayette’s travels throughout the Old Dominion during the Virginia Campaign in 1781. It will be our second Revolutionary War marker in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

By March 20, 1781, General Lafayette had arrived at Gen. Muhlenberg’s militia camp at Sleepy Hole, northeast of Suffolk, while scouting for the British troops under the command of Benedict Arnold. Working with Suffolk Tourism, we were able to secure a nice location for this new marker at Sleepy Hole Park (4616 Sleepy Hole Rd, Suffolk, VA 23435).

The marker will be formally dedicated on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 2 pm ET, in the presence of local dignitaries and officials. We anticipate the program to last no longer than 45 minutes, including photo opportunities for attendees following the completion of the ceremony.

The new commemorative marker will be installed to the northwest of the Sleepy Hole Park Road loop, in the immediate vicinity of the public landing pier. Plenty of free parking will be available for attendees on-site.

We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the incredible team at Suffolk Tourism, in particular Theresa Earles and Kevin Sary, for their guidance throughout the validation process. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Suffolk Parks and Recreation.

This event is entirely FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. To find out more about this event and other upcoming ones, please visit our website at lafayette250.org/events. You can also send us an email at inquiries@thelafayettetrail.org.

This new marker was donated by The Lafayette Trail, Inc. to the City of Suffolk, VA, with funding from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

We look forward to seeing you in Suffolk on Wednesday, April 15, 2026!