Ryan Wilsey

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Canandaigua Anxiously Waits Before Jubilation And An Elegant Supper What’s it like for a community when a rock star visits before anyone had even heard of rock and roll music? Read this week’s Carosa Commentary “La

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Dispelling Mendon Myths When there’s not much to say about a small piece of history, how tempting is it to fill in the empty with something? Read this week’s Carosa Com

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Competing Memories Turn Lafayette’s Rochester Visit From History To Mystery Lafayette could not believe where the boat stopped. It seemed as if he were magically suspended in the air. Where was he? Read this week’s Carosa C

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Fort Niagara And The Man-Made Wonder Of Lockport June 6, 1825, was a memorable day for everyone in Lockport, the growing epicenter of engineering marvel. The nation’s guest was about to arrive with a b

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The Natural Wonder Of Niagara Falls, Goat Island, And Lewiston Do you remember what you thought the first time you saw Niagara Falls? Now imagine how a European traveler might see them. That’s only one of the s

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Breakfast At Black Rock Then On To Tonawanda Peter Porter didn’t like to lose, but lose he did. Buffalo, not his beloved Black Rock, won the right to become the western terminus of the Erie C

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Regal Reception In Buffalo’s Blossoming Queen City It’s 1825. The worst is behind it. Buffalo sits poised on the cusp to a nearly century long trajectory of prosperity and growth. And it’s all bec

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: To The Dunkirk Dinghy By The Dawn’s Early Light Left behind compared to its neighboring towns and villages, Dunkirk remained the last bastion of the frontier legacy of Greater Western New York. What

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Fast Fredonia Frenzy Fredonia is home to a lot of firsts. But they didn’t come until after Lafayette’s visit. What did this small rural village have to offer? Read this wee

May 9, 2024 Issue of The Sentinel Take a look at this week’s front page. What’s on the inside of this week’s issue and why is it important to you? Click here to view the entire issue 

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Special Delivery To Westfield, A Fitting First Traveling on the main road between Buffalo and Erie, Lafayette followed the same route as the U.S. Mail. The ride was bumpy compared to the relatively

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The State Of Greater Western New York In 1825 The spirit of the Greater Western New York Region undulated like a volatile rollercoaster in the decades immediately following the close of the

Ode To Fire And Ice (Cream) Sometimes a man’s life can be reduced to the simplest of elements. While plain on the outside, if you dive deeper into their source, you often d

Lafayette On The Folly Of Tolerance How can an early 19th century discussion inform us on matters of today? Thought leaders of that time were truly leaders of thought. They had no problem

Famous Eclipses In History And Literature It’s a specular phenomenon. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. It evokes an eerie atmosphere (literally) that speaks of the supernatural. What is i

Hats Off To Easter! Easter stands as one of those traditions we share today. Every family has its own variation on this theme. Would you like to know some of ours? Read

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Lafayette Prepares To Enter The Greater Western New York Region Lafayette and his entourage entered Western New York before they even stepped across the Pennsylvania border. How was this possible? Read this week’s C

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Overview Of His 1824-1825 American Visit (Part I) He only meant to stay for four months. It was a fast and furious four months, filled with famous faces, fabulous feasts, and felicitous festivities. But

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Why Lafayette? Finally free from the nemesis of Great Britain, and now looking at it more as an ally, America was ready for a big birthday party. For all the nostalgia

Lafayette’s Tour: America In 1824 For the first time in a long time, America could sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of their nation. What’s more, they knew the best was yet to t