Lafayette, Iowa

Lafayette, Iowa
unincorporated community
Lafayette, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°08′49″N91°40′49″W / 42.14694°N 91.68028°W / 42.14694; -91.68028
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Elevation	902 ft (275 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID	458170 [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

1. "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
2. Brewer, Luther Albertus; Wick, Barthinius Larson (1911). History of Linn County Iowa: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Pioneer Publishing Company. pp. 27, 144, 287.
3. "Post Offices". www.postalhistory.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
4. Cram, George Franklin (1887). Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States. G.F. Cram. p. 368.
5. Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. pp. 203–207.
6. Company, Rand McNally and (1925). Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States, Territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions. Rand McNally & Company. pp. 188–190.
7. The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 292.
8. Blasczyk, Beth Koch (2001). From Switzerland: The Jacob and Anna Koch Family: Farmers of Souls: a Legacy in Teaching, Farming, and the Ministry. Madison, Wisconsin: Little Leaf Press. ISBN   978-1-893385-00-9.