After meeting with old soldiers and the public downtown at city hall park, Lafayette travelled up to UVM to lay the cornerstone for the new Old Mill building, which was destroyed by fire a year earlier.  Lafayette had lain the cornerstone for the massive Bunker Hill Monument in Boston just eleven days earlier. He, and many Burlington dignitaries, were members of the Masonic Fraternity. One of the well-known public ceremonies that Freemasons perform is the consecration of a cornerstone as it is being laid during the construction of a new building. The Grand Lodge of Vermont will be performing this ceremony to commemorate Lafayette’s action 200 years ago, at what is now the historic Old Mill building on the UVM campus at 26 University Place. Local musician/singer Matt Van Wagner will open the ceremony with a rendition of La Marseillaise to recognize the importance of the French
legacy Lafayette left for America. UVM past president Dan Fogel will welcome guests and reprise the 1825 address given to Lafayette by then UVM president Willard Preston. Guests will then be invited to a brief ceremony at the unique Marquis de Lafayette statue which has adorned the green for over a hundred years, followed by a reception in the nearby Waterman Building at 85 South Prospect Street recognizing Lafayette’s lifetime achievements. The public is encouraged to attend! Parking will be in the lot adjacent to Waterman on College Street or behind the Fleming Museum on 61 Colchester Avenue.