More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #313 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Lafayette was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1980.
The Lafayette post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bateman (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,825 in 19802020 census: 6,197168 years
How historic is Lafayette?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lafayette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 25% of U.S. towns, #313 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lafayette’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lafayette’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Lafayette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The outlines of the 6-mile squares that would become the Town of Lafayette were first surveyed in the fall of 1848 by crews working for the U.S. government. In August and September 1849 another crew marked all the section corners of the eastern half of modern Lafayette (and the west half of modern Sigle), walking the woods and swamps on foot, measuring with chain and compass. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:
The Lafayette post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lafayette rank for history?
Lafayette is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #313 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.
How old are the homes in Lafayette?
7% of Lafayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
