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History · Fayette

Fayette’s post office opened in 1849, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 2000.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fayette began

When was Fayette founded?

1849

The Fayette post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Yellowstone (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 366 in 20002020 census: 381177 years
Founding year: the first Fayette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Fayette’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 Fayette are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1984. Watch Fayette change.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Fayette.Old housesHalf of Fayette’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fayette’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fayette’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
On the map

Fayette on the map, 1902 to 1984

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

Fayette on the 1902 USGS mapFayette on the 1962 USGS mapFayette on the 1984 USGS map1902Mineral Point sheet · 1:125,000

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

Timeline

Fayette, 1845 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845Born hereRobert McKee Bashford is born here
  3. 1848Born hereJames Whitford Bashford is born here
  4. 1849Post officeThe Fayette post office opens
  5. 1852Post officeThe Yellowstone post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1906Post officeThe Yellowstone post office closes
  9. 1907Post officeThe Fayette post office closes
The story so far

Fayette, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fayette yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 376 in 2010, 381 in 2020.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
People over time

Fayette, census by census

010020030040020002020Peak: 381

Between 366 and 381 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fayette

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Robert McKee BashfordAmerican politician · b. 1845
James Whitford BashfordAmerican bishop · b. 1848
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Fayette had its own post office from 1849 to 1907. Another post office, Yellowstone, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fayette
1849–1907
Yellowstone
1852–1906
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Yellowstone
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fayette
County LineFayetteSaint Michaels Catholic

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WaldwickIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLamontIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlanchardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townArgyleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWillow Springs3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fayette’s history

What year was Fayette founded?

The Fayette post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.