Lafayette, Indiana | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Downtown Lafayette and the Riehle Plaza and CityBus depot | |
| Nickname: "Star City" | |
 Show Lafayette Show Tippecanoe County Show Indiana Show the United States | |
  Lafayette  Lafayette | |
| Coordinates:40°24′02″N86°52′43″W / 40.40056°N 86.87861°W /40.40056; -86.87861 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Indiana |
| County | Tippecanoe |
| Townships | Fairfield,Perry,Sheffield,Union,Wea |
| Platted | 1825 |
| Incorporated | 1853 |
| Founded by | William Digby |
| Named after | General Lafayette |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Mayor | Tony Roswarski (D) |
| Area | |
• City | 29.50 sq mi (76.41 km2) |
| • Land | 29.38 sq mi (76.09 km2) |
| • Water | 0.13 sq mi (0.33 km2) |
| • Metro | 904.6 sq mi (2,343 km2) |
| Elevation | 663 ft (202 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 70,783 |
| • Density | 2,409.4/sq mi (930.27/km2) |
| • Metro | 223,716 (205th) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 47901, 47904, 47905, 47909 |
| Area code | 765 |
| Interstate Highways |  I-65 |
| U.S. Highways | |
| Major state roads | |
| Waterways | Wabash River |
| Airports | Purdue University Airport (West Lafayette) |
| Public transit | CityBus |
| FIPS code | 18-40788[3] |
| GNIS feature ID[4] | 2395583[2] |
| Website | www |
Lafayette (/ˌlɑːfiˈɛt,ˌlæf-/LA(H)F-ee-ET) is a city in and thecounty seat ofTippecanoe County, Indiana, United States.[4][5] The population was 70,783 at the2020 census.[6] It sits across theWabash River fromWest Lafayette, home toPurdue University, which plays a major role in both communities. Together, Lafayette and West Lafayette make up the core of theLafayette metropolitan area, home to 235,066 people in 2020.
Lafayette was founded in 1825 on the southeast bank of the Wabash River near where the river becomes impassable for riverboats upstream, though a French fort and trading post had existed since 1717 on the opposite bank and three miles downstream. It was named for the French generalMarquis de Lafayette, aRevolutionary War hero. Lafayette is 63 miles (101 km) northwest ofIndianapolis and 125 miles (201 km) southeast ofChicago.
When European explorers arrived at this area, it was inhabited by a tribe ofMiami Native Americans known as the Ouiatenon orWeas. In 1717, the French government establishedFort Ouiatenon across theWabash River and three miles (4.8 km) south of present-day Lafayette. The fort became the center of trade for fur trappers, merchants and Indians. An annualreenactment and festival known asFeast of the Hunters' Moon is held there each autumn.[7]
The town of Lafayette wasplatted in May 1825 by William Digby, a trader. It was designated as the county seat of the newly formedTippecanoe County the following year. Like many frontier towns, Lafayette was named forGeneral Lafayette, a French officer who significantly aidedGeorge Washington'sContinental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War. Lafayettetoured the United States in 1824 and 1825.[8]
In its earliest days, Lafayette was a shipping center on the Wabash River. In 1838,Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, the first United States Patent Commissioner, published a booklet titledValley of the Upper Wabash, Indiana, with Hints on Its Agricultural Advantages, to promote settlement of the region. By 1845, Ellsworth had purchased 93,000 acres (380 km2) of farmland around Lafayette and moved there fromConnecticut to supervise land sales.[9] By 1847 Ellsworth was distributing broadsides looking for farmers to purchase his farmland.[10] He became president of the Tippecanoe County Agricultural Society in April 1851 – despite some local resentment over what was called "the Yale Crowd" – but he was defeated the same year when he ran for theIndiana House of Representatives.[11] Ellsworth Street and Ellsworth Historic District are named for him.[12]
TheWabash and Erie Canal in the 1840s stimulated trade and affirmed Lafayette's regional prominence.Railroads arrived in the town in the 1850s, connecting it with other major markets. TheMonon Railroad connected Lafayette with other sections of Indiana.
Lafayette was the site of the first official airmail delivery in the United States on 17 August 1859, whenJohn Wise piloted a balloon starting on the Lafayette courthouse grounds. Wise hoped to reachNew York; however, weather conditions forced the balloon down nearCrawfordsville, Indiana, and the mail reached its final destination by train. In 1959, the US Postal Service issued a 7¢airmail stamp commemorating the centennial of the event.[13]
Lafayette is located in Fairfield and Wea Townships.
According to the 2010 census, Lafayette has a total area of 27.74 square miles (71.85 km2), all land.[14]
Neighborhoods include:[15]
Historic neighborhoods includeNinth Street Hill Neighborhood Historic District andUpper Main Street Historic District.
In recent years, temperatures in Lafayette have ranged from an average low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −33 °F (−36 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and again in January 1994; and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches (40 mm) in February to 4.24 inches (108 mm) in June.[16]
| Climate data for Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University Airport) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1944–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 69 (21) | 73 (23) | 86 (30) | 89 (32) | 96 (36) | 105 (41) | 105 (41) | 100 (38) | 98 (37) | 92 (33) | 80 (27) | 73 (23) | 105 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 33.4 (0.8) | 38.0 (3.3) | 49.5 (9.7) | 61.9 (16.6) | 72.5 (22.5) | 81.2 (27.3) | 83.8 (28.8) | 82.7 (28.2) | 77.2 (25.1) | 64.5 (18.1) | 50.0 (10.0) | 38.2 (3.4) | 61.1 (16.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 29.7 (−1.3) | 40.0 (4.4) | 51.1 (10.6) | 61.6 (16.4) | 70.7 (21.5) | 73.6 (23.1) | 72.2 (22.3) | 65.5 (18.6) | 53.7 (12.1) | 41.3 (5.2) | 31.0 (−0.6) | 51.3 (10.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 18.2 (−7.7) | 21.4 (−5.9) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 40.3 (4.6) | 50.7 (10.4) | 60.1 (15.6) | 63.4 (17.4) | 61.7 (16.5) | 53.9 (12.2) | 43.0 (6.1) | 32.6 (0.3) | 23.8 (−4.6) | 41.6 (5.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) | −20 (−29) | −6 (−21) | 7 (−14) | 25 (−4) | 35 (2) | 43 (6) | 37 (3) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 5 (−15) | −16 (−27) | −23 (−31) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.19 (56) | 1.78 (45) | 2.73 (69) | 3.84 (98) | 4.04 (103) | 4.56 (116) | 4.08 (104) | 3.12 (79) | 2.59 (66) | 2.91 (74) | 2.87 (73) | 2.29 (58) | 37.00 (940) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 9.3 | 8.1 | 10.6 | 11.6 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 11.8 | 10.4 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 126.3 |
| Source:NOAA[17][18] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Lafayette 8 S, Indiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 66 (19) | 74 (23) | 85 (29) | 89 (32) | 95 (35) | 104 (40) | 106 (41) | 98 (37) | 102 (39) | 92 (33) | 80 (27) | 71 (22) | 106 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 33.2 (0.7) | 37.7 (3.2) | 49.2 (9.6) | 61.9 (16.6) | 72.9 (22.7) | 81.4 (27.4) | 83.6 (28.7) | 82.4 (28.0) | 77.8 (25.4) | 65.4 (18.6) | 50.5 (10.3) | 38.4 (3.6) | 61.2 (16.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.4 (−3.7) | 29.2 (−1.6) | 39.7 (4.3) | 51.4 (10.8) | 62.7 (17.1) | 71.6 (22.0) | 73.9 (23.3) | 72.3 (22.4) | 66.2 (19.0) | 54.5 (12.5) | 41.8 (5.4) | 31.0 (−0.6) | 51.6 (10.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.7 (−7.9) | 20.7 (−6.3) | 30.2 (−1.0) | 40.9 (4.9) | 52.5 (11.4) | 61.7 (16.5) | 64.2 (17.9) | 62.1 (16.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 43.6 (6.4) | 33.0 (0.6) | 23.5 (−4.7) | 42.1 (5.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) | −23 (−31) | −15 (−26) | 4 (−16) | 24 (−4) | 36 (2) | 42 (6) | 36 (2) | 26 (−3) | 19 (−7) | −2 (−19) | −25 (−32) | −25 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.45 (62) | 1.95 (50) | 2.70 (69) | 3.91 (99) | 4.37 (111) | 5.01 (127) | 4.26 (108) | 3.68 (93) | 2.96 (75) | 2.98 (76) | 3.17 (81) | 2.39 (61) | 39.83 (1,012) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 6.6 (17) | 5.8 (15) | 3.1 (7.9) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.6 (1.5) | 4.0 (10) | 20.5 (52) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 10.0 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 12.5 | 11.0 | 9.4 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 9.6 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 119.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 4.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 12.0 |
| Source:NOAA[17][19] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 6,129 | — | |
| 1860 | 9,387 | 53.2% | |
| 1870 | 13,506 | 43.9% | |
| 1880 | 14,860 | 10.0% | |
| 1890 | 16,243 | 9.3% | |
| 1900 | 18,116 | 11.5% | |
| 1910 | 20,081 | 10.8% | |
| 1920 | 22,486 | 12.0% | |
| 1930 | 26,240 | 16.7% | |
| 1940 | 28,798 | 9.7% | |
| 1950 | 35,558 | 23.5% | |
| 1960 | 42,330 | 19.0% | |
| 1970 | 44,955 | 6.2% | |
| 1980 | 43,011 | −4.3% | |
| 1990 | 43,764 | 1.8% | |
| 2000 | 56,397 | 28.9% | |
| 2010 | 67,140 | 19.0% | |
| 2020 | 70,783 | 5.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[20] | |||
Lafayette is the larger principal city of theLafayette-Frankfort CSA, aCombined Statistical Area that includes theLafayette metropolitan area (Benton,Carroll, and Tippecanoe counties) and theFrankfort micropolitan area (Clinton County),[21][22][23] which had a combined population of 212,408 at the2000 United States census.
As of the2010 United States census,[24] there were 67,140 people, 28,545 households, and 15,863 families in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,420.3 inhabitants per square mile (934.5/km2). There were 31,260 housing units at an average density of 1,126.9 units per square mile (435.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.2%White, 11.2%African American, 0.4%Native American, 1%Asian, 0.0% fromother races, and 2.7% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 16.3% of the population.
There were 28,545 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% weremarried couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.00.
The median age in the city was 31.9 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.2% were from 45 to 64, and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
As of the2000 United States census, there were 56,397 people, 24,060 households, and 13,666 families in the city. The population density was 2,806.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,083.6/km2). There were 25,602 housing units at an average density of 1,274.1 units per square mile (491.9 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.91%White; 3.22%African American; 0.37%Native American; 1.22%Asian; 0.04%Pacific Islander; 4.61% fromother races, and 1.62% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 9.11% of the population.
There were 24,060 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 42.5% weremarried couples living together; 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present; and 43.2% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 individuals and the average family size was 2.98.
The city population contained 23.2% under the age of 18; 14.2% from 18 to 24; 31.3% from 25 to 44; 19.3% from 45 to 64; and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,859, and the median income for a family was $45,480. Males had a median income of $32,892 versus $23,049 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $19,217. About 8.0% of families and 12.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Companies located in Lafayette include:
The Lafayette area has four branch locations of the Tippecanoe County Public Library:[27]
The government consists of a mayor – elected in a citywide vote – and a city council of nine members. Six are elected from individual districts; three are elected at-large.
K-12 public education in the majority of the Lafayette city limits is provided by theLafayette School Corporation, which operatesJefferson High School and other schools. TheTippecanoe School Corporation covers some outerlying portions of the Lafayette city limits;[32] its schools are nearby. The Tippecanoe district operatesMcCutcheon High School andWilliam Henry Harrison High School, which cover these outerlying parts.[33]
New Community School was a tuition-free elementarycharter school (sponsored byBall State University) located on the north side of Lafayette; it closed in 2016.[34]
Beacon Academy was a charter school operated by the Lafayette School Corporation in West Lafayette; it closed in 2018.
Elementary
Middle School
Junior/High School
K-12
From 1953 until the 2016 launch ofWPBI-LD,WLFI-TV had been the only"Big Three" (ABC,CBS andNBC—or, includingFox, "big four") commercial network television broadcaster in the Lafayettemarket. With the 2017 launch ofWPBY-LD, local broadcasts of all "big four" networks became available.[35][36] Lafayette also remains one of few television markets without its ownPBS station, the market being served byWFYI inIndianapolis.
WRTV,WTHR,WTTV, andWXIN, the respective ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates in Indianapolis which had been carried by cable and satellite providers in the Lafayette market as"out-of-market" stations, remain viewable in the area via a largeover-the-air antenna or, in some cases, via a subscription satellite orstreaming service. Cable providerComcast Xfinity discontinued its remaining carriage of Indianapolis-based "big four" stations on March 7, 2018,[37] but resumed carriage of WTHR and WRTV two days later.[38]
No airports are located within Lafayette city limits. The nearestcommercial airport which currently has scheduled airline service is thePurdue University Airport (LAF) in West Lafayette.
Interstate 65 toGary, Indiana (nearChicago) and Indianapolis
US 52 toJoliet, Illinois (also near Chicago) and Indianapolis
US 231 toRensselaer, Indiana andOwensboro, Kentucky
State Road 25
State Road 26
State Road 38Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides passenger rail service to Lafayette through theCardinal toChicago, Washington D.C., and New York City.Norfolk Southern;CSX Transportation;Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad; andToledo, Peoria and Western Railway (RailAmerica) provide freight rail service. Many lines that originally passed through the downtown were redirected in the mid-1990s to a rail corridor near the Wabash River.[39][40]
Lafayette has twosister cities as designated bySister Cities International.[48][49]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
Municipalities and communities ofTippecanoe County, Indiana,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
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| Other communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
