On September 23, 1824, the Marquis De Lafayettte passed through Jersey City as part of his triumphant return visit to the country he helped establish. After breakfasting in what was then Jersey City proper, he made a stop at the Bergen Hotel at the Five Corners, then part of Bergen Township, where he was presented with a ceremonial cane. The cane was made from a local apple tree, under which, it was said, LaFayette and George Washington met to discusss strategy during a difficult phase of the Revolutionary War. 

To commemorate the bicentennial of this event, a memorial sign will be dedicated at the Five Corners Library, the site of the former hotel. The plaque will be a part of the LaFayette Trail, tracing the route of LaFayette's visit.

Join Mayor Fulop, Councilman Boggiano, the American Friends of LaFayette, Board Members of the Museum of Jersey City History and other officials and dignitaries for the ceremonial dedication of the plaque.

Following the unveiling, the Museum of Jersey CIty History at the Apple Tree House, 298 Academy Street, will host a reception with light refreshments and additional speakers. A Lafayette exhibit including materials from the library's New Jersey Room collection will be on view at the Museum. The former Van Wagenen home is nicknamed the Apple Tree House for the association of the Van Wagenen family with the orchard where Washington's meeting with LaFayette was said to have taken place.