Lafayette County, Missouri

Lafayette County
Lafayette County Courthouse in Lexington
Map of Missouri highlighting Lafayette County
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Map of the United States highlighting Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°04′N 93°47′W / 39.06°N 93.78°W / 39.06; -93.78
Country United States
State Missouri
FoundedNovember 16, 1820
Named forMarquis de La Fayette
SeatLexington
Largest cityOdessa
Area
 • Total639 sq mi (1,660 km2)
 • Land628 sq mi (1,630 km2)
 • Water11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total32,984
 • Density52/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district5th
Websitewww.lafayettecountymo.com

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]

  1. ^ "Population Data and Maps | MARC". Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lafayette County, Missouri". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "Disappearing Missouri Names". The Kansas City Star. March 19, 1911. p. 15. Retrieved August 15, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 183.