Fayette is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Howard County, Missouri Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri, with its southern border formed by the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,151. Its county seat is Fayette, Missouri, Fayette. Settled o ...

, United States. It is part of the

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census.

History

Fayette was laid out in 1823. The community was named after

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. A post office has been in operation at Fayette since 1824. The Edwin and Nora Payne Bedford House, Central Methodist College Campus Historic District, Coleman Hall, Fayette City Park Swimming Pool, Fayette Courthouse Square Historic District, Fayette Residential Historic District, Greenwood, Prior Jackson Homeplace, Alfred W. Morrison House, Oakwood, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, South Main Street Historic District, and Dr. Uriel S. Wright Office are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Fayette is at (39.145468, -92.686126). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,688 people, 949 households, and 509 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,097 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 13.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.2% of the population. There were 949 households, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.4% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the city was 26.1 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 32% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.9% were from 25 to 44; 19.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,793 people, 976 households, and 578 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,133

housing unit A housing unit, or dwelling unit (at later mention, often abbreviated to ''unit''), is a structure or the part of a structure or the space that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or more people who maintain a common hous ...

s at an average density of . The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 79.16%

, 18.33%

, 0.47% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04%

, 0.47% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population. There were 976 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.79. In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.9% under the age of 18, 28.2% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,276, and the median income for a family was $35,694. Males had a median income of $27,768 versus $20,833 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,451. About 9.1% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Fayette is home to

Central Methodist University Central Methodist University (formerly known as Central Methodist College and also known as Central College or CMU) is a private university in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is accredited to offer master's, bachelors, and associate degrees. The school ...

, a private 4-year university, which is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. It was also home to the now-defunct Howard-Payne Junior College. In its public school system, Fayette has one

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(L. J. Daly), one

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(W. N. Clark) and one

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

(Fayette). Fayette has a lending library, the Howard County Public Library.

Notable people

Carrie Carlton Elizabeth Chamberlain Wright (, Mary Elizabeth House; after first marriage, Mrs. Charles C. Chamberlain and Mrs. M. H. Chamberlain; after second marriage, Mrs. Washington Wright; ca. 1834 – 1868) was a 19th-century American poet and writer known ...

(1834–1868), poet, writer, journalist

References

External links

* Historic maps of Fayette in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

{{authority control Cities in Howard County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Columbia metropolitan area (Missouri) Cities in Missouri 1823 establishments in Missouri