Lafayette Park - Waterloo, NY - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com

County of park: Seneca County
Location of park: Main St. (US 20), Park Place, New High School Bldg, and W. Williams St.
Land was set aside for this park when the Village was founded.
Great history on U-Tube can be seen: Lafayette Park

Lafayette Park is the staging area for "Celebrate Commemorate Memorial Day" each year. Congress has legislated that Waterloo, NY is the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

Official NY State Historical Marker was erected here. The text of that marker:

HISTORIC NEW YORK
Memorial Day "On May 5, 1866, the residents of Waterloo held the first complete, community-wide observance of Memorial Day. They dedicated the entire day to honoring the Civil War dead in a solemn and patriotic manner. Throughout the village, flags, draped in mourning, flew at half mast. Ladies prepared wreaths and bouquets for each veteran's grave. Businesses closed, and veterans, civil organizations and townspeople marched to the strains of martial music to the village cemeteries. There, with reverent prayers and patriotic ceremonies, the tradition of Memorial Day was born.

"Henry C. Welles, a prominent citizen, first proposed the idea for a day completely devoted to honoring the Civil War dead. General John B. Murray, the Seneca County Clerk, who had commanded the 148th New York Infantry Regiment in the war, quickly advanced the thought and marshalled [sic] community support. Since that year, Waterloo has annually observed Memorial Day. New York, in 1873, became the first state to proclaim Memorial Day, or Decoration Day, as it was originally called, a public holiday.

"In May 1966, a joint resolution by the United States Congress and a proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson officially recognized Waterloo as the birthplace of Memorial Day." - The State Education Department

Name: Lafayette park Street Location: 220 Main St. (US 20/NY 5) Local Municipality: Waterloo State/Province, etc.: New York Country: USA Web Site: [Web Link] Memorial/Commemoration: Commemorate Memorial Day Date Established: 1879 Picnic Facilities: picnic tables Recreational Facilities: none Monuments/Statues: Memorial Day Birthday, Veterans who died in war, Korean War Memorial, Civil War Memorial, High Schiool Centennial Arch, Skoi-yase village memorial, WWI, Korean, and Vietnam memorials, General Lafayette memorial, Monument to the Revolutionary War campaigns Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Memorial Day Relief Sculpture Fountains: none Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: none Special Events: Memorial Day celebrations Traditional Geocaches: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   08/16/2017 jiggs11 visited it 06/09/2008 YoSam. visited it

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