Lafayette dates to 1846, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #27 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Lafayette was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1850.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 69% of U.S. towns, #27 of 142 in Oregon. Its age holds 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.
Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lafayette’s 8.9 sits above most of its state (67% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1846.
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.
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.
1888Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lafayette, 1846 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lafayette was founded in 1846 by Joel Perkins, an American pioneer and entrepreneur, who had previously lived in Lafayette, Indiana and named the new settlement similarly after Marquis de Lafayette, a general involved in the American Revolutionary War.
The post office was established in 1851, and the city was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on October 17, 1878.
Lafayette was the county seat of Yamhill County from its founding until 1889, when county residents voted to move the county seat to McMinnville.
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.
Lafayette’s post office has been open since 1851. Another post office, Yam Hill Falls, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Yam Hill Falls
1850–1852
Lafayette
1851–today
18501940today
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 1846, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lafayette’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 396 people here.
How does Lafayette rank for history?
Lafayette is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #27 of 142 in Oregon. 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?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Joseph Mattey House (listed 1977, the first).
How old are the homes in Lafayette?
8% of Lafayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 2000.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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