LaFayette, Alabama explained

Official Name:LaFayette
Settlement Type:City
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Kenneth Vines
Area Total Km2:23.01
Area Land Km2:22.94
Area Water Km2:0.07
Area Total Sq Mi:8.88
Area Land Sq Mi:8.86
Area Water Sq Mi:0.03
Mapsize:250px
Established Title1:Incorporated
Established Date1:January 7, 1835
Named For:Marquis de Lafayette
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Name1:Alabama
Subdivision Name2:Chambers
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:2684
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:−6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:−5
Elevation Ft:843
Coordinates:32.8983°N -85.4006°W
Elevation M:257
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:36862
Area Code:334
Area Code Type:Area code
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:01-40672
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:0164071
Population Density Sq Mi:303.04
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population Density Km2:117.00
Area Footnotes:[1]

LaFayette is the county seat of Chambers County, Alabama, United States, northwest of Columbus, Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 3,003.[2]

History

Chambers County was formed in 1832. The newly elected county officials opted to locate the county seat as near as possible to the center of the county. Lots for the new town were auctioned in October 1833, with proceeds from the sale financing the construction of a courthouse and jail. The town was first called "Chambersville", but by the time of incorporation on January 7, 1835, the town name had been changed to "Lafayette", named after the Marquis de Lafayette; its spelling was changed to "LaFayette" due to the influence of newspaper editor Johnson J. Hooper, who created a fictional character called Captain Simon Suggs, a backwoods southerner who pronounced the town's name as "La Fait".[3] [4] The city's newspaper, The LaFayette Sun, was founded under the name The Alabama Standard in April 1841 and adopted its current name on August 3, 1881.[5]

On October 2, 1898, John Anderson, a black man, was lynched in Lafayette.[6] Scenes from the movie Mississippi Burning were filmed at the Chambers County Courthouse and in downtown LaFayette.[3]

LaFayette is the birthplace of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. An 8feet bronze statue, executed by sculptor Casey Downing Jr. of Mobile, Alabama, was erected in Louis' honor in front of the Chambers County courthouse in 2010.[7] It is also the hometown of Hoyt L. Sherman, one of artist Roy Lichtenstein's principal art professor/mentors at Ohio State University.

Geography

LaFayette is located at 32°53'54.859" North, 85°24'2.822" West (32.898572, -85.400784).[8]

The city is located in east central Alabama along U.S. Route 431, which is the main north–south route through the city. U.S. 431 leads north 21miles to Roanoke and south 23miles to Opelika. Alabama State Route 50 also runs through the city as a southern bypass, leading east 14miles to Lanett on the Alabama-Georgia state line, and southwest 18miles to Camp Hill. Alabama State Route 77 begins in the northern part of the city and connects LaFayette to the town of Wadley, 20miles to the northwest.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23sqkm, of which 0.07sqkm, or 0.31%, is water.[2]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, LaFayette has a humid subtropical climate (abbreviated Cfa).

Demographics

2020 census

La Fayette racial composition[9] !Race!Num.!Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)71026.45%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)1,84968.89%
Native American90.34%
Asian60.22%
Other/Mixed351.3%
Hispanic or Latino752.79%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,684 people, 1,017 households, and 610 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 3,003 people, 1,129 households, and 749 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,299 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 68.8% Black or African American, 29.3% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. 1.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,129 households, out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were married couples living together, 30.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 22.0% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,319, and the median income for a family was $31,629. Males had a median income of $31,842 versus $27,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,149. About 28.5% of families and 36.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.2% of those under age 18 and 22.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Chambers County School District provides public education for LaFayette. Within the city limits are two high schools (Lafayette High School and the Chambers County Career Technical School), one middle school (JP Powell Middle School), and one elementary school (Eastside Elementary School).

Chambers Academy (grades pre-K through 12) is a private school in LaFayette.

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. October 29, 2021.
  2. Web site: Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): La Fayette city, Alabama. https://archive.today/20200212161655/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0140672. dead. February 12, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. June 2, 2014.
  3. Encyclopedia: Schmidt. Greg. LaFayette. Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 12, 2010. November 29, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129030049/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-2478. dead.
  4. Web site: Spell it with a capital 'F'. The LaFayette Sun blog. January 2, 2013. January 13, 2013.
  5. News: A History of The LaFayette Sun. The LaFayette Sun. August 22, 2012. January 13, 2013.
  6. Book: Ginzburg, Ralph . 100 Years of Lynchings . 253 . Black Classic Press . 1996 . 9780933121188.
  7. News: Craft . Chris . Joe Louis statue unveiled today will honor an icon . Ledger-Enquirer . Columbus, Georgia . McClatchy Company . February 27, 2010. March 10, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20120222051907/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/02/27/1031961/joe-louis-statue-unveiled-today.html . February 22, 2012. dead .
  8. Web site: US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990. United States Census Bureau. April 23, 2011. February 12, 2011.
  9. Web site: Explore Census Data. December 13, 2021. data.census.gov.
  10. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. July 10, 2015.