Lafayette County is a county in the western portion of Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.^[1] As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,984.^[2] Its county seat is Lexington.^[3] The county was organized November 16, 1820 from Cooper County and originally named Lillard County for James Lillard of Tennessee, who served in the first state constitutional convention and first state legislature.^[4] It was renamed Lafayette County on February 16, 1825, in honor of Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de La Fayette, who was then visiting the United States.^[5]

Quick Facts Country, State ...

Lafayette County
County
Lafayette County Courthouse in Lexington
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°04′N 93°47′W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	November 16, 1820
Named for	Marquis de La Fayette
Seat	Lexington
Largest city	Odessa
Area
• Total	639 sq mi (1,660 km2)
• Land	628 sq mi (1,630 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	32,984
• Density	52/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.lafayettecountymo.com

Close

Lafayette County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought enslaved people and slaveholding traditions and started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco.

Peter Youree (1843-1914) was born here to merchant P. E. Youree and the former M. M. Zimmerman. As a young man, he enlisted in the Confederate forces from here, and gained the rank of captain during the American Civil War. Afterward, he settled in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he married, became a successful merchant and banker, and served on the Caddo Parish Police Jury.

As a result of the migration from the South, this part of Missouri, and neighboring counties, became known as Little Dixie. In 1860 enslaved people made up 25 percent or more of the county's population, and the county was strongly pro-Confederate during the American Civil War.^[6]

But immigrants from Germany, as well as German Americans from St. Louis, began arriving shortly before the war, with many more to come afterwards. Many of the Germans were sympathetic to the Union and opposed slavery. They eventually made up a large part of the populations of Concordia, Emma, Wellington, Napoleon, Higginsville, Mayview, and Lexington.

After the war, there were racial tensions as whites worked to dominate the freedmen. Following Reconstruction, whites lynched two blacks in the decades around the turn of the century.

Sunday May 4, 1919, Lafayette County Sheriff Joseph C. Talbott was killed while transporting car thieves to jail.  Also killed were Deputy Sheriff John McDonald and Deputy Constable James Stapleton.  On May 29, 1919, Lafayette County held a special election to replace Sheriff Talbott.  Sheriff Talbott's wife, Minnie Mae Talbott, won the special election becoming the first woman elected to the office of Sheriff in the United States.  Minnie Mae Talbott was sworn into office on June 8, 1919.  Minnie Mae Talbott was elected by an all-male electorate.  Women would not gain the right to vote until August 1920, with ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 639 square miles (1,660 km²), of which 628 square miles (1,630 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.6%) is water.^[10]

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 32,960 people, 12,569 households, and 9,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20 people/km²). There were 13,707 housing units at an average density of 22 units per square mile (8.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.52% White, 2.27% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Approximately 1.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.3% were of German, 17.5% American, 9.9% English and 9.7% Irish ancestry.

There were 12,569 households, out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,235, and the median income for a family was $45,717. Males had a median income of $31,972 versus $22,684 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,493. About 6.90% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.90% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those ages 65 or over.

• List of counties in Missouri
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lafayette County, Missouri