West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships,

Tippecanoe County, Indiana Tippecanoe County ( ) is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana about east of the Illinois state line, less than from the Indianapolis metro area, and from Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population wa ...

, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and southeast of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. West Lafayette is directly across the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

from its sister city, Lafayette. As of the 2020 census, its population was 44,595. It is home to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and is a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

and the most densely populated city in Indiana.

History

Augustus Wylie laid out a town in 1836 in the

floodplain south of the present Levee. Due to regular flooding of the site, Wylie's town was never built. The present city was formed in 1888 by the merger of the adjacent suburban towns of Chauncey, Oakwood, and Kingston, located on a bluff across the

from

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

. The three towns had been small suburban villages which were directly adjacent to one another. Kingston was laid out in 1855 by Jesse B. Lutz. Chauncey was platted in 1860 by the Chauncey family of Philadelphia, wealthy land speculators. Chauncey and Kingston formed a municipal government in 1866 which selected the name "Chauncey". The new town of Chauncey remained a small suburban village until

opened in 1869. In 1871 Chauncey voted to be annexed by Lafayette because it was unable to provide the infrastructure (such as improved streets, waterworks, police and fire protection). Lafayette voted against annexing Chauncey because of the high cost of the many improvements that the village lacked. In May 1888, the town of Chauncey voted to change its name to West Lafayette after a petition signed by 152 electors. By that time, the growth of the university was fueling the growth of the little town. The address of

was given as "Lafayette, Indiana" until well into the twentieth century. West Lafayette never gained a railroad depot and lagged several years behind Lafayette in the establishment of municipal infrastructure and services. Today, West Lafayette has established itself as a separate city, with independent services and unique neighborhoods distinct from those of its sister city, Lafayette. In November 2013, the City of West Lafayette approved an

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

that placed much of the

academic campus and residence hall system within the official boundaries of the municipality for the first time. This expansion also included a large section of the US Highway 231 corridor that was previously part of unincorporated Tippecanoe County. Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House,

Jesse Andrew House The Jesse Andrew House is a historic building in West Lafayette, Indiana, placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its historic value in the time of the founding of the city. It was the home of Jesse Andrew, a member of the ...

, Chauncey-Stadium Avenues Historic District, John E. and Catherine E. Christian House, Curtis-Grace House, Happy Hollow Heights Historic District, Hills and Dales Historic District, Morton School, and The Varsity 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

West Lafayette lies in central Tippecanoe County and overlooks the Wabash River, which borders the city on the east and south. Most of the city lies in eastern Wabash Township, though a small portion on the northeast side extends into Tippecanoe Township. Elevations range from slightly over near the river to more than in northern parts of the city near

U.S. Route 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...

. According to the 2010 census, West Lafayette has a total area of , of which (or 99.87%) is land and (or 0.13%) is water.

Neighborhoods

* Amberleigh Village * Arbor Chase * Avondale * Bar Barry Heights * Camelback * Glenwood Heights * Happy Hollow * Hills and Dales * New Chauncey Neighborhood * Northwestern Heights * Park Ridge * Peppermill Village * Plaza Park * Prophets Ridge * Stonebridge * University Farm * Wabash Shores

Demographics

2020 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 2020, there were 44,595 people living in the city.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 29,796 people, 11,945 households, and 4,072 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 12,591 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 60.2%

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 ...

, 9.8%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 17.3% Asian, 1.9% 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 7.6% of the population. There were 11,945 households, of which, 16.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.2% 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, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 65.9% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 22.8 years. 11.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 49.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.4% were from 25 to 44; 11.7% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.2% male and 45.8% female. Following the 2010 census, West Lafayette annexed additional territory including the Purdue University main campus. The census bureau released an updated report to reflect the boundary updates. The census now reports 14,053 households and a population of 44,910.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 28,778 people, 10,462

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, and 3,588 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 10,819 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 69.3%

, 13.3% Asian, 8.4%

, 0.2% Native American, <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 ...

, 1.2% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 9.2% of the population. There were 10,462 households, out of which 14.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.6% were

living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 10.4% under the age of 18, 54.6% from 18 to 24, 16.9% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 133.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 137.2 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the city was $24,869, and the median income for a family was $51,510.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 $18,337. About 22.5% of families and 38.3% 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 ...

Economy

The economy of West Lafayette is heavily influenced by the presence of Purdue University, with an enrollment of over 50,000, more than the city's population. The university employs 12,000 people, most of whom live in either West Lafayette or Lafayette. The

Purdue Research Park The Purdue Research Parks are a network of four research parks located in Indiana, United States. The flagship West Lafayette park is located less than north of Purdue University's West Lafayette campus, and is the largest university-affiliate ...

, established in 1961, is home to more than 140 companies of which nearly 100 are technology related. As of 2009, these companies employ more than 3,000. The Park offers communications infrastructure, research facilities, a business incubation complex to help start-up firms and scenic walking trails and lakes. It is one of the largest university-affiliated research parks in the United States. The Purdue Research Park is owned by Purdue Research Foundation, the University's non-profit funding and technology licensing arm. Commercial activities, however, take place mostly across the river in Lafayette. The largest commercial area in West Lafayette is the Wabash Landing/Levee area, which has become a thriving urban-type district since the entire area was reconstructed and the Pedestrian Bridge to Lafayette replaced the old State Street bridge. The Levee features Wabash Landing, a complex containing shops, restaurants, coffee houses, a 9-screen movie theater, a hotel and the Riverside Skating Center.

Arts and culture

The town has a lending library, the West Lafayette Public Library. There is also a branch of the county-run library (Tippecanoe County Public Library) in the Klondike area to the west of the city.

Points of interest

Purdue University Horticulture Gardens The Purdue University Horticulture Gardens are botanical gardens at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in the United States. History The gardens were founded in 1982. In 2019, following substantial improvements to the garden, it was ...

Fort Ouiatenon Fort Ouiatenon, built in 1717, was the first fortified European settlement in what is now Indiana, United States. It was a palisade stockade with log blockhouse used as a French trading post on the Wabash River located approximately three miles ...

, an early French trading post * Purdue State Bank, 1914 bank building designed by architect

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

(John E. Christian House), a

Usonian Usonia () is a term that was used by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference over ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the planni ...

home designed by architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

* Celery Bog Nature Area and Lilly Nature Center * Purdue Horticulture Park

Government

The city's elected officials consist of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, a clerk, and a nine-member Common Council. The nine-member Common Council holds the city's

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

authority and makes the laws through ordinances, orders, resolutions and motions. The city is divided into 6 districts, and the Common Council consists of one council member from each district, plus three at-large council members. Elected by the council members, the president of the Common Council presides over the council meetings and is first in the line of succession should the mayor not finish his or her term of office. All city elected officials have a term of office of four years with no limit on the number of terms. Regular elections for all offices are held at the same time in the odd year preceding the presidential election year. The following is a list of all mayors of West Lafayette since the position began in 1924.Kriebel, Robert C
Ross-Ade: Their Purdue Stories, Stadium, and Legacies
p. 166 (2009)

Education

Purdue University Engineering Quad Fountain

West Lafayette is the home of Purdue University's main campus, with an enrollment of over 40,000 students. The West Lafayette Community School Corporation covers central portions of West Lafayette,
Text list
/ref> administers three schools. The school district is not coterminous with the municipality; areas annexed by the city after 2000 continue to be served by county schools. Students attend West Lafayette Elementary School (formerly Cumberland Elementary School) through third grade, while students in grades 4–6 attend West Lafayette Intermediate School. Students in the 7th grade and above attend

West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School (also informally known as West Side High School or simply West Side) is the only high school within the West Lafayette city limits, and is administered by the West Lafayette Community School Corporation. ...

. The

Tippecanoe School Corporation The Tippecanoe School Corporation administers three high schools, six middle schools and eleven elementary schools in Tippecanoe County, Indiana: It covers the majority of the county, including outer-lying parts of Lafayette and West Lafayett ...

covers outer-lying portions of the West Lafayette municipality. That district's schools are not in the West Lafayette municipal limits. The zoned high school of areas of West Lafayette in the Tippecanoe district is William Henry Harrison High School. The

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

operates Pleasantview SDA School which offers courses for grades K–8, and the Montessori School of Greater Lafayette teaches K–6. There are other schools, both public and private, that have a West Lafayette address, but these are actually located outside the city limits. Approximately 77% of West Lafayette's population age 25 or older hold a bachelor's degree or higher according to the U.S. Census 2005–2007 American Community Survey. The city ranks sixth highest on this measure among U.S. municipalities between 20,000 and 65,000 population. There is also a variety of

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

in Lafayette and an

Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary ins ...

branch.

Media

West Lafayette residents use many of the news and media outlets located in its twin city of Lafayette. Media located in West Lafayette proper include: * The

Purdue Exponent The ''Purdue Exponent'' is an independent student newspaper that serves Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is published on Mondays and Thursdays during university semesters by the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, and is India ...

. Purdue University's independent student newspaper serving Purdue, West Lafayette, and Lafayette. Newsroom and offices located just off campus on Northwestern Avenue in West Lafayette. *

WPBI-LD WPBI-LD (channel 16) is a Low-power broadcasting, low-power television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and NBC. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company Limited liability ...

16 (

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

;

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on LD2;

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on LD3) *

WLFI-TV WLFI-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station maintains studios on Yeager Road in West Lafayette; its transmitter is located on Co ...

18, (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

; 18.2 CW; 18.3

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

; 18.4

getTV Get (Great Entertainment Television, stylized as get. since 2023, and formerly stylized as getTV) is an American Digital subchannel#Commercial networks, digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television#Sony Pictures Tel ...

; 18.5

Start TV Start TV is an American free-to-air television network owned as a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the CBS News and Stations subsidiary of Paramount Global. Predominantly carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated tele ...

) *

WPBY-LD WPBY-LD (channel 35) is a Low-power broadcasting, low-power television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company Limited liability com ...

35 (

;

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television progra ...

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

on LD2) * WBAA Radio (

WBAA WBAA (920 AM) and WBAA-FM (101.3 FM) are jointly operated non-commercial educational radio stations licensed to West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, both serving the Lafayette metro area and the Indianapolis area with public radio ...

920 AM, and WBAA-FM 101.3 FM);

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

affiliates with studios located on the

campus *

WLQQ WLQQ (106.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to West Lafayette, Indiana. It is owned by Woof Boom Radio and it broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, branded as "Q106.7". Its radio studios and offices are on Main Stree ...

Radio. (106.7FM)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transportation in West Lafayette is managed by the

Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation The Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation (GLPTC) is a municipal corporation founded in 1971 that provides bus services in Tippecanoe County, Indiana under the operating name of CityBus. In , the system had a ridership of , or about ...

Airport

Purdue University Airport Purdue University Airport is a public-use airport in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Purdue University, and is southwest of the central business district of Lafayette, Indiana, in West L ...

Highways

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

(near

) and

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States Numbered Highway System, U.S. Highway in the central United States, Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

(also near Chicago) and Indianapolis *

US 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmark ...

Rensselaer, Indiana Rensselaer is a city located along the Iroquois River (Indiana-Illinois), Iroquois River in Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Jasper County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,733 at the 2 ...

and

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

* State Road 26 from

campus to

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

* State Road 43 to

Brookston, Indiana Brookston is a town in Prairie Township, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,631 as of the 2020 United States Census. History Brookston was platted in 1853, and named for James Brooks, a railroad official. In 1867, ...

and

Reynolds, Indiana Reynolds is a town in Honey Creek Township, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 531 at the 2020 census. History Reynolds was platted around 1854 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was named for Ben ...

Railroads

* Amtrak (Lafayette station) *

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Company is a Class III railroad serving agricultural communities in east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana. History In December 1977, Conrail was set to abandon of their ex-New York Centr ...

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

Notable people

''For notable residents associated with

, see

List of Purdue University people A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

.''
''For notable natives from the neighboring city

, see that page.'' *

Moungi Bawendi Moungi Bawendi (; born 15 March 1961) is an Americans, AmericanTunisians in France, –Tunisian–French chemist. He is currently the Lester Wolfe Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bawendi is known for his advances in the ch ...

, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry *

Brian Binnie William Brian Binnie (April 26, 1953 – September 15, 2022) was a United States Navy officer and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites and flown from 2003 to 2004. Early life ...

, test pilot for

SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne is an experimental air launch, air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "Feathering (reentry), feathering" atmosph ...

Joe Booher Donald Joe Booher (February 22, 1941 – February 12, 1993) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Goody's Dash driver. He spent his time running a farming business when he was not racing. He was killed while competing in the 1993 Goody's ...

, racing driver *

Katie Bouman Katherine Louise Bouman (; born 1989) is an American engineer and computer scientist working in the field of computational imaging. She led the development of an algorithm for imaging black holes, known as Continuous High-resolution Image Rec ...

, computer scientist who was a member of the

Event Horizon Telescope The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a Astronomical interferometer, telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes. The EHT project combines data from several very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) stations around Earth, wh ...

team that captured the first image of a black hole *

Max Mapes Ellis Max Mapes Ellis, (December 3, 1887 - August 26, 1953) was an American physiologist. He was married to the American ichthyologist Marion Durbin Ellis (1887-1972) in 1909. Early life and career Ellis, born in Lawrence, Indiana, and raised in West La ...

, American

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

Bob Friend Robert Bartmess Friend (November 24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A fou ...

, Major League Baseball player *

Gen Fukunaga is a Japanese-born American engineer and entrepreneur. He established Funimation (now Crunchyroll, LLC), a company that distributes anime in Canada and the United States. He was its president and chairman until he stepped down in 2019. As of Oc ...

, founder of

Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC is an American entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand streaming service. The company was founded as Funimation in May 1 ...

Sanjay Ghemawat Sanjay Ghemawat (born 1966 in West Lafayette, Indiana) is an American computer scientist and software engineer. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Google in the Systems Infrastructure Group. Ghemawat's work at Google, much of it in close collabo ...

, computer scientist and senior fellow of Google *

Anissa Jones Mary Anissa Jones (March 11, 1958 – August 28, 1976) was an American child actress known for her role as Buffy Davis on the CBS sitcom '' Family Affair'', which ran from 1966 to 1971. She died from a drug overdose five years after the sho ...

, actress, best known as "Buffy" on

' ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

'' *

Cleve Jones Cleve Jones (born October 11, 1954) is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2020. In 1983 at the onset ...

, conceived the

AIDS quilt The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is a memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece of communit ...

* Stan Jones, educator and politician * George Karlaftis, NFL player for the Kansas City Chiefs * Tom Kelly, songwriter *

Harry G. Leslie Harry Guyer Leslie (April 6, 1878December 10, 1937) was an American politician and Indiana Republican Party member, speaker of the state house and the 33rd governor of the state. His term as governor was marked by the start of the Great Depre ...

, governor of Indiana *

Jay McDowell BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country rock band founded in 1993. It originally consisted of Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar), Don Herron (steel guitar, resonator guitar, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic ...

, bassist for country music band

BR549 BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country rock band founded in 1993. It originally consisted of Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar), Don Herron (steel guitar, resonator guitar, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic ...

Toby Moskowitz Tobias Jacob "Toby" Moskowitz (born February 3, 1971) is an American financial economist and a professor at the Yale School of Management. He was the winner of the 2007 American Finance Association (AFA) Fischer Black Prize, awarded to a lea ...

, financial economist * Chike Okeafor, NFL player *

Eric Rodwell Eric Victor Rodwell (born May 1, 1957) is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the United States five times and is one of ten players who have won the triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the Worl ...

, multiple world champion bridge player * Brian Rosenthal, journalist. *

Erik Sabel Erik Sabel (born October 14, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999 and 2001 and the Detroit Tigers in 2002. Career Following his playing career, Sabel ha ...

, MLB player * Randy Truitt, former member of the Indiana House of Representatives

References

External links

City of West Lafayette, Indiana website
{{Authority control Cities in Indiana Populated places established in 1888 Cities in Tippecanoe County, Indiana Lafayette metropolitan area, Indiana Articles containing video clips 1888 establishments in Indiana

History

Geography

Neighborhoods

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Economy

Arts and culture

Points of interest

Government

Education

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References

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