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History · Lafe

Lafe dates to 1889

Most of Lafe was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1980.

1889founded
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Photolitherland Chris Litherland · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Lafe began

When was Lafe founded?

1889

Lafe dates its founding to 1889 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 215 in 19802020 census: 418137 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lafe’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lafe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lafe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lafe’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Lafe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lafe.

Read it all →

The first settler of Lafe was Herman Toelken, a German immigrant who had been living in New Haven, Missouri, and was seeking new opportunities in an unsettled area. Toelken began cutting railroad ties for the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern (later Missouri Pacific) railroad in order to save enough money to purchase land and send for his family.

When Toelken was settled he began advertising in a Minneapolis German newspaper seeking other German Lutherans to come to the area. Several families responded to this advertisement, and an assortment of German immigrant families followed him from Franklin County, Missouri.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lafe, 1889 to 1966

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889
    FoundingLafe is established
  3. 1890Post officeThe Loulyma post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Loulyma post office closes
  6. 1902Post officeThe Lafe post office opens
  7. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1966Post officeThe Lafe post office closes
By decade

Lafe, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lafe, AR City Hall2026Lafe, AR City HallChrisLitherlandLafe2011ChrisLitherlandLafe
On the map

Lafe on the map, 1940 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lafe. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lafe on the 1940 USGS mapLafe on the 1958 USGS mapLafe on the 1960 USGS mapLafe on the 1984 USGS map1940Gainesville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lafe.

People over time

Lafe, census by census

0100200300400500198020002020Peak: 458

Between 215 and 458 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lafe’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lafe

Nobody well known was born in Lafe itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Iris DeMentAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1961
Jeanne CarmenAmerican model, actress and trick golfer · b. 1930
J
James W. WoodAmerican astronaut · b. 1924
Barbara FairchildAmerican country and gospel singer · b. 1950
S
Skyler BowlinAmerican basketball player · b. 1989
M
Molly RawnAmerican business executive and politician · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Lafe had its own post office from 1902 to 1966. Another post office, Loulyma, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Loulyma
1890–1902
Lafe
1902–1966
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Evangelical Friendship Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Lafe
Saint Johns

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Lafe’s history

What year was Lafe founded?

In 1889, according to Wikidata. Lafe’s post office opened in 1890, and the census of 1980 counted 215 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (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.