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Lafayette, Iowa

Lafayette, Iowa
Lafayette, Iowa is located in Iowa
Lafayette, Iowa
Lafayette, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°08′49″N 91°40′49″W / 42.14694°N 91.68028°W / 42.14694; -91.68028
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
Elevation
902 ft (275 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID458170[1]

Lafayette or La Fayette is an unincorporated community in Linn County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.

History

Lafayette in north-central Linn County, Iowa, in 1902

In 1845, settler John Nevins built a sawmill in what later became the village of Lafayette. This mill was later passed down to new owners John Lambert, James Greene, and A. Brenaman, then Fred Notebahn. Notebahn added a grist mill.[2]

By 1856, Lafayette was listed as a town in N.H. Parker's Handbook of Iowa.[2] In 1871, a coal deposit was discovered near Lafayette; a mining company was established, but proved unprofitable, with the shafts flooded with water and the coal deposit "not exceeding an inch in thickness".[2]

The Lafayette post office was established in 1891.[3]

The community's population was 50 in 1890,[4] 53 in 1900,[5] and 52 in 1920.[6]

The Lafayette post office was discontinued in 1902.[3]

The community's population was 50 in 1940.[7]

Lafayette is home to the Lafayette Christian Church and the Lafayette Salem Evangelical Church, the later of which celebrated its centennial around 2001.[8]

References