Château de Chavaniac The Château de Chavaniac is a fortified manor house of eighteen rooms furnished in the Louis XIII style located in Chavaniac - Lafayette , Haute - Loire , in Auvergne , France . Flanked by two towers of black stone , it was built in the 14th century and was the birthplace of General Lafayette in 1757 . In 1917 , Scottish - born American industrialist John C . Moffat purchased the castle to serve as a center of philanthropy for people affected by World War I . Following the war he renovated it completely to preserve documents and objects relating to General Lafayette . The Château de Chavaniac is now a museum open to the public . History . The Château de Chavaniac was constructed in the 14th century . It was partially destroyed by a fire in 1701 . General Lafayette was born here in 1757 . He was married in 1774 to Adrienne de Noailles . They had four children together : Henriette , who died at a young age , Anastasie , Georges and Virginie who lived in the castle . A hero of the American and French revolution s , he was rejected by the French revolutionaries when he voted against the death of King Louis XVI . With the fall of the monarchy , he tried to flee to the United States through the Dutch Republic . He was captured by Austrians and was made prisoner by Austria at the fortress of Olmutz . He was considered a traitor for not saving the life of Marie - Antoinette , an Austrian by birth , and the king . Lafayette returned to France in 1797 . The château was restored to Lafayette in 1791 but sold by the French Republic when Lafayette fled the country . His aunt later bought the château . In December 1916 , a group of philanthropists led by John C . Moffat , and including William A . Chanler , Joseph Choate , Clarence Mackay , George von Lengerke Meyer , John Grier Hibben , and Nicholas Murray Butler , purchased the château for the French Heroes Lafayette Memorial Fund which was managed by Chanler ' s ex - wife Beatrice Ashley Chanler . Parts of the château were used as a school , an orphanage and a hospital ( known as the Lafayette Preventorium ) until 1920 , supported by funds from 150 , 000 donors . During the post - war period , the château was extensively renovated and furnished with memorabilia from Lafayette and other period pieces . The roof was redone , foundations were stabilized , a tower was rebuilt and the south wing was built in the rear with a square tower . During World War II the château was used as a secret hiding place for Jewish children . John Moffat died in 1966 and was buried with his wife on the grounds of château . The Lafayette Memorial Association Inc . took over management of the château . The museum was renovated in the 1990s with the sponsorship of Merck Sharp Chemical Co . In 2007 the Lafayette Preventorium became a separate institute , the . In 2009 , the Conseil Général de la Haute - Loire took over management of the château and repaired the roof . The French and American flags fly permanently over the château in honor of the key role Lafayette played in the French and American revolutions . Architecture . The Château de Chavaniac framed by two towers of black rock from Auvergne was constructed in the 14th century . The château and the interior decoration were listed as historic monuments by France on August 21 , 1989 . In the entrance one finds a great staircase , a gallery with painted murals , a Louis XIII dining room , and a guardroom . The first floor has a grand salon , a library , and the family ' s bedrooms . The second floor has a great hall and the master bedroom with a bathroom and a sauna . The Franco - American friendship room is found on the fourth floor .