Lafayette Presbyterian Church in Lafayette, Georgia was founded on August 12, 1835, as Ebenezer Church in the town then named Chattooga, Georgia, the county seat of Walker County, Georgia.[1] [2] The town changed its name briefly to Benton, Georgia and then in December 1836 to Lafayette, Georgia, in honor of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and military officer who joined the Continental Army, led by George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette eventually was appointed a major general.[3] In 1841, the Ebenezer church was renamed LaFayette Presbyterian Church.[1]
On June 24, 1864, during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War, a battle was fought in LaFayette.[4] LaFayette Presbyterian Church was used as a field hospital during and following the battle for both Union and Confederate soldiers.[1] Church records which were destroyed during the war were rewritten by surviving church elders in 1865.[1] Over the years through 2024, the church has been repaired and rebricked and the facilities significantly enlarged and expanded.[1]