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History · LaFayette

LaFayette dates to 1820, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lafayette Methodist Church. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1870.

1820founded
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How LaFayette began

When was LaFayette founded?

1820

LaFayette dates its founding to 1820 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 215 in 18702020 census: 177206 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓

What stands out about LaFayette’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 LaFayette are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 970 in 1880; 177 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1820: 206 years of LaFayette.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start LaFayette’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

LaFayette, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 970

Peaked at 970 in 1880; 177 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

LaFayette, 1820 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820
    FoundingLaFayette is established
  3. 1835Post officeThe La Fayette post office opens
  4. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 970
  5. 20th century
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How LaFayette came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of LaFayette.

Read it all →

LaFayette was first settled in the late 1810s, and by 1820 was home to a dry goods and grocery store. It was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1836. The city was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette.

LaFayette is home to an antebellum church, the Lafayette Methodist Church. Built in 1852 by Dutch-born builder Daniel Umbenhour, the church is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about LaFayette in 1930

Passages that mention LaFayette, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Since July 1, 1898, a period of more than thirty years, this prosperous institution has supplied the needs of the busy little town of LaFayette, twenty miles from the county seat, for a bank of its own. It is well situated to serve a large territory in Christian and Trigg counties, and in Stewart C…
A History of Christian County Kentucky from Oxcart to Airplane1930 · page 342Read the page →
Read the text

Since July 1, 1898, a period of more than thirty years, this prosperous institution has supplied the needs of the busy little town of LaFayette, twenty miles from the county seat, for a bank of its own. It is well situated to serve a large territory in Christian and Trigg counties, and in Stewart County, Tennessee. Its career has been one of good management and uninterrupted success. One of the founders of the bank was the venerable Thomas H. Elliott, now more than ninety years of age, and one of Christian County’s leading citizens and most successful business men. His son

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

LaFayette, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Lafayette-shops-107-ky2017Lafayette-shops-107-kyLafayette-entrance-sign-ky2017Lafayette-entrance-sign-kyLafayette-Texaco-ky2017Lafayette-Texaco-kyLafayette-Methodist-Church-ky2017Lafayette-Methodist-Church-kyLafayette-KY107-NE-ky2017Lafayette-KY107-NE-kyLafayette-City-Hall-ky2017Lafayette-City-Hall-kyLafayette-Baptist-Church-ky2017Lafayette-Baptist-Church-kyLafayette-Bank-building-ky2017Lafayette-Bank-building-ky
On the map

LaFayette on the map, 1951 to 1982

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

LaFayette on the 1951 USGS mapLaFayette on the 1982 USGS map1951Roaring Spring sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in LaFayette

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Lafayette Methodist Church
Lafayette Methodist Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Lafayette Methodist ChurchGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to LaFayette

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

See all →
Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederate States from 1861 t… · b. 1808
bell hooksAmerican author and activist · b. 1952
Robert Penn WarrenAmerican poet, novelist, and literary critic · b. 1905
Pat SummittAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1952
Benjamin Helm BristowUnion Army officer, lawyer, politician · b. 1832
P
Paul RudolphAmerican architect · b. 1918
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
La Fayette

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

Questions about LaFayette’s history

What year was LaFayette founded?

In 1820, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. LaFayette’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1870 counted 215 people here.

What is on the National Register in LaFayette?

One place: the Lafayette Methodist Church (listed 1979).

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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.