LYNN — In 1824, Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, was invited to tour all 24 U.S. states by President James Monroe. He did so, and in Massachusetts, he paraded through Lynn, down Market Street and Broad Street, and ultimately down Chestnut Street to what is now Goldfish Pond.
The visit by the famed French military officer, who was instrumental in securing American independence from Great Britain at the Siege of Yorktown, will be reenacted this fall for the Goldfish Pond Association’s 40th anniversary.
“It was a celebratory grand tour,” said Trish Greene, vice president of the Goldfish Pond Association. “He rode through Boston, up through Chelsea, to Lynn, to Marblehead, and it was a big celebration at the time.”
The nonprofit Goldfish Pond Association secured a $2,300 grant from the Lynn Cultural Council to plan the parade, which will include a horse and carriage and a period actor playing Lafayette, followed by a parade of cars driven by members of the Goldfish Pond Association.
Greene said the event will not only celebrate the association’s four decades of maintaining the neighborhood’s pond, but will commemorate a notable event in Lynn’s history — the area surrounding Goldfish Pond was named Lafayette Park, and an adjacent street Fayette Street, following the marquis’ visit.
“(In 1824), they put arches over the road with signs on them welcoming him. At the time, it must have been a really exciting thing,” Greene said. “We want to sort of recreate that excitement.”
The event will be Saturday, Sept. 12, at 11 a.m., and following a summer of COVID-19 and canceled events — the annual flea market, planting day, and movie night — Greene said she hopes a sizable crowd will return to the neighborhood to see the parade, which itself had to be postponed from June 6.
The Goldfish Pond Association is responsible for weekly cleanups, beautification and maintenance of Goldfish Pond, which, Greene said, has actually seen an increase in visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goldfish Pond was once called “Ingalls Pond,” Greene said, because Edmund Ingalls, the first European settler of Lynn, arrived nearby at the Deer Cove section of Lynn Beach in 1630, then built a house with his family near the pond. Early parades in the city took place in the area for all types of occasions, Greene said.
Ingalls Pond, which was really more of a swampy area that dried up in the summer, was transformed by residents into Goldfish Pond in 1870 — named after some goldfish that flourished after being placed in the swamp by neighborhood boys in 1840.
But the most famous event in the neighborhood was surely the marquis’ visit, Greene said. The military officer was famous throughout the U.S. for fighting with the Continental Army during the American Revolution. A force led by Lafayette trapped British troops led by Charles Cornwallis near Yorktown, Va., until American and French reinforcements arrived. The subsequent battle led to Cornwallis’ surrender, and the Siege of Yorktown was the last major land battle of the revolution, leading to peace negotiations and, ultimately, American victory.
According to the Goldfish Pond Association, nearby Fayette Street became the first named street in Lynn following Lafayette’s visit.
“Rarely ever do you see a horse and carriage in Lynn,” Greene said. “We are going to bring a little history back … we will probably have banners, maybe play the French national anthem, have a little fun with it.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Goldfish Pond Association, and to learn more about the organization, visit www.goldfishpond.org.
