Lafayette is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

in the center of Deer Creek Township, Madison County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. It is located at , along U.S. Route 40, just west of its intersection with U.S. Route 42.

History

Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville (also known regionally as "Limerick") was laid out in 1816, by Thomas Gwynne, on land he owned northwest of where Lafayette is located today.Bryan, Chester E.,
History of Madison County, Ohio
', B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, 1915, Pg. 178. In 1816, Angus Ross opened Lawrenceville's first and only tavern. The Lawrenceville Post Office was established on July 2, 1825. In 1836-7, the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

was completed through the township, missing Lawrenceville, and the town immediately began to die. By 1915, the original community was nothing more than

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

land, with no signs left to indicate there was ever a community.

Lafayette

Lafayette was laid out on October 1, 1834, by William Minter, and named in honor of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette. On December 31, 1836, the Lawenceville Post Office was moved to Lafayette, and renamed Lafayette Post Office, with John Minter as the first postmaster of the new branch. As of 1875, the community contained one drug store, one dry goods and grocery store, and one

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

shop.J. A. Caldwell,
Caldwell's Atlas of Madison County, Ohio
', Condit, Ohio, 1875, Pg. 10. The post office was discontinued on December 31, 1905, with mail service going through the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

branch. As of 1915, the community contained three general stores and one blacksmith shop. Lafayette is also home to the Red Brick Tavern, one of 11 properties on the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Ohio This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Ohio. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Ohio, United Stat ...

Demographics

The population of Lafayette was 160 in 1875, and 75 in 1915. As of the

2010 U.S. Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

it is 202.

American FactFinder The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Madison County, Ohio Census-designated places in Ohio