LAMORINDA WEEKLY | City plans to celebrate over 175 years of Lafayette history


Photo courtesy Lafayette Historical Society

Under the leadership of Mayor Carl Anduri in partnership with the Lafayette Historical Society, the city of Lafayette will be celebrating over 175 years of Lafayette history during 2023. The goal is to increase awareness and appreciation of the city's history including recognition and understanding of the indigenous people who were first on the land that is now Lafayette, as well as the Spaniards and Rancheros that preceded American settlers who laid out the built community that we see today.

"I want us to look back farther than just 175 years and look at the indigenous people who were on the land for thousands of years, well before even the Rancheros and Europeans came," Anduri said. "The Indigenous people lived in harmony with nature and the history of that time when the Spanish came gives us a first chance to look at the clash of cultures and what that means. And then we can look at what happened when the Europeans came."

The month of January will feature presentations by Mary McCosker of the Lafayette Historical Society, and a number of "Images of America: Lafayette" books will be available in Little Free Libraries throughout Lafayette.

For information, visit:?https://www.lovelafayette.org/why-lafayette/175plus