Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
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Lafayette Hill is a small unincorporated community in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Lafayette Hill is located just west of Philadelphia's "Chestnut Hill" neighborhood, and south of Plymouth Meeting. Lafayette Hill draws its name from General Lafayette, who stayed there during the American Revolution.
Prior to general decampment from Valley Forge in the spring of 1778, George Washington dispatched an estimated 2200 troops under the command of Marquis de Lafayette to act as a defensive screen and to conduct reconnaissance of the British army, which had garrisoned in Philadelphia for the winter. The two forces had a brief engagement at nearby Barren Hill.
Visitors today often mistakenly believe that the hill after which Barren Hill was named is that rise in elevation upon which St. Peter's Church sits (on Church Road between Ridge and Germantown Pikes). This is not true, as shown on this contemporary map, drawn by a participant in the Battle of Barren Hill, which identifies "the" Barrenhill as being southwest of the church, probably in the region known today as "Barren Hill Road," a winding, wooded, and treacherous road which connects Lafayette Hill to Conshohocken.
Lafayette Hill is home to a large Jewish community and is served by the Colonial School District.
