Lafayette County ( ) is a county in the western portion of Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,984. Its county seat is Lexington. 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. 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.

History 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.T. J. Stiles, Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War, New York: Vintage Books, 2003, pp. 10-11

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.

21st century

In November 2013, Leland Ray Kolkmeyer pleaded guilty, in federal court, of a fraud scheme in which he embezzled more than $1.5 million from Wellington-Napoleon Fire Protection District and Special Road District while serving as their treasurer."Public servant steals $1.5 million from two tiny towns in Missouri"; The Kansas City Star; November 22, 2013"Treasurer admits to embezzling over $1 million from small towns’ funds:; Fox4KC; November 22, 2013.Treasurer for road district and fire district pleads guilty to embezzling $1.5 million; justice.gov; November 20, 2013.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties Ray County (northwest) Carroll County (northeast) Saline County (east) Johnson County (south) Jackson County (west) Pettis County (southeast)

Major highways Interstate 70 U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 65 Route 13 Route 20 Route 23 Route 131 Route 213 Route 224

National protected area Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census +Lafayette County, Missouri – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)28,79829,83131,29031,00229,25696.23%95.90%94.93%92.87%88.70%Black or African American alone (NH)8488737457266712.83%2.81%2.26%2.17%2.03%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)47103781311380.16%0.33%0.24%0.39%0.42%Asian alone (NH)5766801251150.19%0.21%0.24%0.37%0.35%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census94512xx0.03%0.13%0.04%Other race alone (NH)40152620580.13%0.05%0.08%0.06%0.18%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3465921,687xx1.05%1.77%5.11%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1352193867401,0470.45%0.70%1.17%2.22%3.17%Total29,92531,10732,96033,38132,984 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 32,984 and a median age of 41.7 years, with 23.0% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 89.8% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.1% from some other race, and 6.1% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.2% of the population.

30.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 69.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 12,864 households in the county, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 14,065 housing units, of which 8.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.2% were owner-occupied and 28.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 32,960 people, 12,569 households, and 9,099 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 13,707 housing units at an average density of . 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.

Education School districts which cover any part of the county, no matter how slight, include: - Text list

Concordia R-II School District Lafayette County C-1 School District Lexington R-V School District Oak Grove R-VI School District (has schools in another county) Odessa R-VII School District Richmond R-XVI School District Santa Fe R-X School District Wellington-Napoleon R-IX School District

Public schools Concordia R-II School District – Concordia Concordia Elementary School (PK-06) Concordia High School (07-12) Lafayette County C-1 School District – Higginsville Grandview Elementary School (PK-05) Lafayette County Middle School (06-08) Lafayette County High School (09-12) Lexington R-V School District – Lexington Leslie Bell Elementary School (PK-04) Lexington Middle School (05-08) Lexington High School (09-12) Odessa R-VII School District – Odessa McQuerry Elementary School (K-02) Odessa Upper Elementary School (03-05) Odessa Middle School (06-08) Odessa High School (09-12) Santa Fe R-X School District – Alma Santa Fe Elementary School (K-06) Santa Fe High School (07-12) Wellington-Napoleon R-IX School District – Wellington Wellington-Napoleon Elementary School (PK-06) Wellington-Napoleon High School (07-12)

Private schools Trinity Lutheran School – Alma (K-09) – Lutheran Holy Cross Lutheran School – Emma (PK-08) – Lutheran Immanuel Lutheran School – Higginsville (K-09) – Lutheran Victory Christian Fellowship School – Waverly (K-12) – Nondenominational Christian St. Paul Lutheran High School – Concordia (09-12) – Lutheran St. Paul's Lutheran School – Concordia (K-8) – Lutheran

Public libraries Robertson Memorial Library Trails Regional Library

Colleges and universities Metropolitan Community College has the school districts in this county in its service area, but not its in-district taxation area.

Politics Local The Republican Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Lafayette County. Republicans hold all but three of the elected positions in the county.

State + Past Gubernatorial Elections Results Year Republican Democratic Third Parties202473.38% 12,57125.01% 4,2851.60% 275202071.85% 12,23826.13% 4,4512.02% 244201657.85% 9,16738.47% 6,0973.68% 583201247.91% 7,53749.31% 7,7582.78% 438200842.70% 7,02255.09% 9,0602.21% 364200452.97% 8,54145.59% 7,3511.43% 231200050.32% 7,27647.94% 6,9321.74% 251199634.00% 4,45063.05% 8,2522.94% 385

Lafayette County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, both of which are held by Republicans.

District 33 — Donna Pfautsch (R-Harrisonville). Consists of the community of Oak Grove.

District 53 – Glen Kolkmeyer (R-Odessa). Consists of almost all of the county.

All of Lafayette County is a part of Missouri's 21st District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg).

Federal

All of Lafayette County is included in Missouri's 5th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Communities

Cities and towns

Alma Aullville Bates City Blackburn (part) Concordia Corder Dover Emma (part) Higginsville Lake Lafayette Lexington (county seat) Mayview Napoleon Oak Grove (part) Odessa Waverly Wellington

Unincorporated communities

Chapel Hill Ernestville Greenton Hodge Myrick Page City Tabeau Waterloo

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

References

External links Lafayette County Website Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Lafayette County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books