La Fayette (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 ...

, pronounced locally "Lay - fay - et") is a village in

Stark County, Illinois Stark County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,400. Its county seat is Toulon. Stark County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Stark County was formed in 1839 out o ...

, United States. It is located south of Kewanee off Route 78 on Route 17, IL-17 (Madison Street). The population was 223 at the 2010 census, down from 227 in 2000. It is part of the

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Once a prominent strip coal mine and farming village with; a general store, high school(until 1970), hotel, bank, grain elevator, train depot, and many other features and amenities. Once the coal mines shut down and railroad was removed in the early 1980s, it slowly became a low income and high poverty village with many people moving away and it eventually diminished to the hollow shell of what it once was.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, La Fayette has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 2000, there were 227 people, 91 households, and 63 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 93 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.48%

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 ...

, 0.44% Asian, 1.76% from other races, and 1.32% 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 1.76% of the population. There were 91 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $26,563, and the median income for a family was $28,125. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $20,893 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 village was $15,002. About 9.0% of families and 13.2% 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 28.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 13.0% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Stark County, Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois Villages in Illinois