Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #115 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Lafayette was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1931 on and the census since 1850.
The Lafayette post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Freemans (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Lafayette was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, of Revolutionary War fame.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lafayette is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #115 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lafayette’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lafayette’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lafayette.
Lafayette was founded in 1843 as a county seat for the newly created Macon County. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, of Revolutionary War fame.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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2006Kfc-longjohnsilversEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lafayette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lafayette.
Grew from 210 people in 1850 to 5,584 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lafayette’s Wikipedia page.
Lafayette’s post office has been open since 1842. Another post office, Freemans, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Lafayette post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Lafayette is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #115 of 177 in Tennessee. 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.
6% of Lafayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1971.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), 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.
