LaFayette dates to 1835, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #55 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Chattooga Academy, the Walker County Courthouse and the Marsh-Warthen House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives LaFayette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, LaFayette is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #55 of 263 in Georgia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of LaFayette’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so LaFayette’s 4.3 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1835.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 LaFayette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
LaFayette was founded as Chattooga, in 1835, as the seat of newly formed Walker County. The county was named after the former United States senator Freeman Walker. Chattooga was renamed LaFayette in 1836 after Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought in the American Revolutionary War. In 1864, the city became the site of the Battle of LaFayette during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1835, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. LaFayette’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 251 people here.
How does LaFayette rank for history?
LaFayette is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #55 of 263 in Georgia. 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 LaFayette?
Three places: the Chattooga Academy (listed 1980), the Walker County Courthouse (1980) and the Marsh-Warthen House (2005).
How old are the homes in LaFayette?
16% of LaFayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1913
1913
1913
1913
1913
2016
2014
2014
2010
2007
2007
2004
2004
2004
