On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Fayette is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #45 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Fayette’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so La Fayette’s 179 sits above most of its state (90% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 47 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about La Fayette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Chambers County was formed in 1832. The newly elected county officials opted to locate the county seat as near as possible to the center of the county. Lots for the new town were auctioned in October 1833, with proceeds from the sale financing the construction of a courthouse and jail. The town was first called "Chambersville", but by the time of incorporation on January 7, 1835, the town name had been changed to "Lafayette", named after the Marquis de Lafayette; its spelling was changed to "LaFayette" due to the influence of newspaper editor Johnson J. Hooper, who created a fictional character called Captain Simon Suggs, a backwoods southerner who pronounced the town's name as "La Fait". The city's newspaper, The LaFayette Sun, was founded under the name The Alabama Standard in April 1841 and adopted its current name on August 3, 1881.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of La Fayette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Opelika sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of La Fayette.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Chambers, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Chambers
1830–1875
Lafayette
1875–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lafayette
Gone or out of use
Chambers County HospitalhospitalLaFayette Collegeschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside La Fayette
HandyLa Fayette
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about La Fayette’s history
What year was La Fayette founded?
The La Fayette post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does La Fayette rank for history?
La Fayette is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #45 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in La Fayette?
Two places: the Chambers County Courthouse Square Historic District (listed 1980) and the Vines Funeral Home and Ambulance Service (2008).
How old are the homes in La Fayette?
12% of La Fayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1978.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
