BIDDEFORD — On June 24, 1825, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier — known to most as the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who helped in America’s fight for independence nearly 50 years earlier — stopped at Spring’s Tavern in Biddeford as part of his Farewell Tour.

On Thursday, Aug. 18, the first Maine sign marking the Lafayette Trail was commemorated outside that same building — long a part of the Deering Lumber headquarters on Spring Island in Biddeford.

The tavern was built by Seth Spring in 1798. He was a  veteran of the American Revolution and had fought at Bunker Hill.

Sen. Susan Deschambault, who sponsored the legislation to commemorate the Lafayette Trail in Maine, said the first marker’s location in Biddeford was particularly fitting, noting the city’s French roots that stretch back generations.

“France helped us in the Revolutionary war,” she said. Lafayette, though spurned by France’s King Louis XVI when he approached the monarch for a vessel to help the independence movement in the new world, used his own money to finance a ship and brought soldiers to fight. He was just 19, and was commissioned as a major general and introduced to Gen. George Washington, who would become his lifelong friend and mentor. Lafayette was wounded in the Battle of the Brandywine in September 1777, and reportedly joined Washington and the Continental Army to camp for the winter at Valley Forge.

During a return trip to France in the winter of 1779, General Lafayette was able to convince Louis XVI and his ministers to send an expeditionary force to America to aid the Patriots before returning to Boston in April 1780, according to information at thelafayettetrail.org.

Lafayette was a formidable opponent of the British. Washington gave Lafayette command of an army in Virginia, and in 1781 he conducted hit-and-run operations against forces under the command of Benedict Arnold, according to historical accounts. He later chased British commander Lord Charles Cornwallis and his English troops across Virginia, trapping him at Yorktown in late July 1781. A French fleet and several additional American armies joined the siege, and on Oct. 19 Cornwallis surrendered, ending the Revolutionary War and ensuring independence for America.

Lafayette returned to America for a 50th anniversary trip, called the Farewell Tour, in 1824 and 1825. Maine was the last of the 25 states he visited, and he made several stops in York County.

The placing of the marker and unveiling was organized by the Biddeford Cultural and Historical Center with help from member and Mayor Alan Casavant and Deering Lumber President Heidi McDonald.

It was sparked by a request by French scholar Julien Icher, who came to Biddeford and spoke about Lafayette’s commemorative trip to America at a BCHC presentation. Icher also spoke about the quest to have Lafayette’s Farewell Tour recognized as the Lafayette Trail, complete with markers.

Deschambault in a prior interview called Lafayette “an interesting character.”

“I welcome the opportunity to amplify the connection between our two countries and cultures,” said Deschambault. “Recognizing the trip Lafayette took when he visited Maine is an easy way to maintain his legacy and keep his memory alive.”

McDonald said Deering Lumber was honored to be able to mark the history of the community.

Among those gathered for the unveiling were representatives of the Rebecca Emery Chapter of the DAR.

“We’ve been following this for a while and (we’re a) big supporter of Lafayette and marking history leading up to our country’s 250th anniversary in 2026,” said member Janice Teasenfitz.

Lafayette spent the night of June 23, 1825, in Dover, New Hampshire, and stopped in South Berwick the following morning for breakfast at the invitation of local townspeople, according to an account published by the Old Berwick Historical Society.

He gave a toast in Kennebunk, where he dined, but it is unclear whether that took place prior to his stop in Biddeford at Spring’s Tavern on his way to Portland on June 24, or if it was after he stopped a second time in Biddeford, on June 26, as he made his way south. An elm tree in Kennebunk was named for Lafayette’s 1825 visit.

There were other stops in Biddeford, including at a Congregational Church.

He visited Cleaves Hotel in Saco.

Deschambault said she learned through a conversation with the ambassador of France that the country in 2025 intends to make the Lafayette Trail a destination for its citizens.

Casavant said events like the unveiling are significant.

“It’s important that we recognize that he was here; he came here because of his love of liberty and freedom,” said Casavant at the unveiling. “It is important to remember who we are as a people and what it means to be free. ,,, Biddeford is changing dramatically; history is foundational,” the former Biddeford High School U.S. history teacher said.

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