Lafayette dates to 1821, and 28 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #29 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Lafayette was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 28 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 1,084 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lafayette is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #29 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lafayette’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Lafayette ranks #168 on History.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lafayette’s 91.9 sits above most of its state (90% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1,118 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Lafayette’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1821.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Lafayette’s post office has been open since 1884. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Vermillion Bridge
1817–1825
Vermillionville
1825–1884
Lafayette
1884–today
Pilette
1901–1909
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arbolada AdditionBendel GardensBenoit Mobile ParkBroadmoorCadillac Street Mobile Home ParkCarroll Ann Mobile Home ParkCredeur Mobile Home ParkElksLandryLarabeeMobile Home AcresMoutonMouton's Trailer ParkMr B's Mobile Home ParkNorberts Golden Gate Mobile Home ParkNorthgrove Mobile Home ParkOak Park Estates Mobile Home ParkPiletteSmittys Mobile Home ParkSouthern Consumer Mobile Home ParkSummerwood Mobile Home CommunityTwisted Oaks Mobile ParkVillage Park Mobile EstateWalroy
Gone or out of use
Assembly Christian SchoolschoolBeau Sejour PlantationlocaleBerthrand SchoolschoolCajun Oaks Golf CourselocaleIle CopalbuildingL'eglise Saint Jean Du VermilionchurchLafayette Charity HospitalhospitalMagnolia PlantationlocaleMonastery of Mary Mother of GracechurchNorth Maurice Gas FieldoilfieldSaint Antoine Elementary SchoolschoolSaint Johns CollegeschoolVermilion Elementary SchoolschoolVermilionville AcademyschoolVerot SchoolschoolWalnut Grove Plantationlocale
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lafayette
Green Lawn Memorial ParkHoly SepulchreJewishLafayette Memorial ParkSaint John - FatimaSaint JohnWhitington
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Attakapa Native Americans inhabited this area at the time of the first European encounter. French colonists founded the first European settlement, Petit Manchac, a trading post along the Vermilion River. In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, numerous Acadian refugees settled in this area, after being expelled from Canada after Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War. They intermarried with other settlers, forming what became known as Cajun culture, which maintained use of the French language and adherence to the Roman Catholic Church.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lafayette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Lafayette sheet · 1:31,680
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lafayette.
Every building
Lafayette, building by building, 1892–1928
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1821, according to Wikidata. Lafayette’s post office opened in 1817, and the census of 1860 counted 498 people here.
How does Lafayette rank for history?
Lafayette is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #29 of 161 in Louisiana. 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?
28 listings: 22 buildings, among them the Old Lafayette City Hall (listed 1975, the first), and 6 historic districts with 1,084 contributing buildings. 1,118 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lafayette?
2% of Lafayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 the Library of Congress (15), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (28), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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