Lafayette County History
Name Origination
Lafayette County, organized November 16, 1820, was originally named Lillard County after James Lillard of Tennessee. James Lillard served in the first state constitutional convention and the first state legislature. Lillard County was organized along with seven other counties at the beginning of 1821. Mount Vernon was the temporary count seat of the county. February 16, 1825 brought the name change of Lillard County to Lafayette, after Marquis de La Fayette’s visit to the United States. The permanent seat of Lafayette County was placed in the “Old Town” of Lexington.
Early Settlers
Lafayette County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. On a rare map from 1851, thirty years after the designation of Lafayette County, six settlements are shown in the area: Cool Spring, Dover, Greenton, Lexington, Mt. Hope, and Wellington.
Lafayette was one of several counties settled mostly by southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie. In 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's population.Residents generally supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. A map from 1862, during the Civil War, Lafayette County contained seven settlements: Cooks Store, Cool Springs, Greenton, Lexington, Moss, Napoleon, and Wellington.
Before, and more heavily after the Civil War, Germans and German Americans from the St. Louis area settled in the area making up a large part of the population of Concordia, Emma, Wellington, Napoleon, Higginsville, Mayview, and Lexington. The German population tended to support the Union during the Civil War.
By 1899, twenty settlements dotted the map of the county: Alma, Aullville, Bates City, Chapel Hill, Concordia, Corder, Dover, Emma, Greenton, Halls, Hodge (Edwards Station), Lexington, Mayview, Myrick, Napoleon, Odessa, Page City, Waterloo, and Wellington.
Courthouse History
Henry Renick, who was also the Justice of the Peace, built the first courthouse in 1824-25 on the square. The building was in use until 1832. It is claimed, (as told by William Chiles in a public address on July 4, 1876) that young “bucks” celebrated July 4th of 1831 by tearing down the walls and blowing up the foundation of the building. The following year the building was deemed unsafe, taken apart, and sold.
The second courthouse for the county, also on the square, was built in 1835. The three-story building was regarded as one of the finest in Missouri, as three-story buildings were rare during this time. The building was kept in use until 1849, when the present courthouse was occupied. The Baptist Female College bought the building in March of 1849. During the Civil War, it became a hospital, then a hospital for those infected with smallpox. It was later abandoned and sold for brick. There are no known illustrations of this courthouse building.
The business district of Lexington moved about one mile west after the town incorporated in 1845. The courthouse also moved to a new, more central location at this time. The court appropriated funds for the third and present courthouse and began putting plans for the new structure in March of 1847. The construction was completed in 1849, with the final cost being about $12,000. In 1854, a small annex was built to house the clerk’s office, followed by a two-story annex in the 1880s. At the turn of the 1900s a two story building addition was added on the East side of the Courthouse.
During the Battle of Lexington in 1861, the courthouse was fired upon, leaving a cannon ball in one of the columns.
Lafayette Hall
In 1905, the Lexington City Hall was built down the block from the courthouse. The building has a floating dome, which was used during WWII for civil defense watches. In 2003, the county began a new project to renovate the building along with building new detention facilities for a new justice center. The building has been renamed Lafayette Hall, and currently holds the County Circuit Clerk Offices.
Justice Center
The original Lafayette County Jail was built in 1932 with funds from the Federal Works Administration under President Roosevelt. In 2002 a tax was passed that would fund a new building. The new jail housed its first inmates in the fall of 2004. The jail project is part of the Lafayette County Justice Center.
Lafayette County, organized November 16, 1820, was originally named Lillard County after James Lillard of Tennessee. James Lillard served in the first state constitutional convention and the first state legislature. Lillard County was organized along with seven other counties at the beginning of 1821. Mount Vernon was the temporary count seat of the county. February 16, 1825 brought the name change of Lillard County to Lafayette, after Marquis de La Fayette’s visit to the United States. The permanent seat of Lafayette County was placed in the “Old Town” of Lexington.
Early Settlers
Lafayette County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. On a rare map from 1851, thirty years after the designation of Lafayette County, six settlements are shown in the area: Cool Spring, Dover, Greenton, Lexington, Mt. Hope, and Wellington.
Lafayette was one of several counties settled mostly by southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie. In 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's population.Residents generally supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. A map from 1862, during the Civil War, Lafayette County contained seven settlements: Cooks Store, Cool Springs, Greenton, Lexington, Moss, Napoleon, and Wellington.
Before, and more heavily after the Civil War, Germans and German Americans from the St. Louis area settled in the area making up a large part of the population of Concordia, Emma, Wellington, Napoleon, Higginsville, Mayview, and Lexington. The German population tended to support the Union during the Civil War.
By 1899, twenty settlements dotted the map of the county: Alma, Aullville, Bates City, Chapel Hill, Concordia, Corder, Dover, Emma, Greenton, Halls, Hodge (Edwards Station), Lexington, Mayview, Myrick, Napoleon, Odessa, Page City, Waterloo, and Wellington.
Courthouse History
Henry Renick, who was also the Justice of the Peace, built the first courthouse in 1824-25 on the square. The building was in use until 1832. It is claimed, (as told by William Chiles in a public address on July 4, 1876) that young “bucks” celebrated July 4th of 1831 by tearing down the walls and blowing up the foundation of the building. The following year the building was deemed unsafe, taken apart, and sold.
The second courthouse for the county, also on the square, was built in 1835. The three-story building was regarded as one of the finest in Missouri, as three-story buildings were rare during this time. The building was kept in use until 1849, when the present courthouse was occupied. The Baptist Female College bought the building in March of 1849. During the Civil War, it became a hospital, then a hospital for those infected with smallpox. It was later abandoned and sold for brick. There are no known illustrations of this courthouse building.
The business district of Lexington moved about one mile west after the town incorporated in 1845. The courthouse also moved to a new, more central location at this time. The court appropriated funds for the third and present courthouse and began putting plans for the new structure in March of 1847. The construction was completed in 1849, with the final cost being about $12,000. In 1854, a small annex was built to house the clerk’s office, followed by a two-story annex in the 1880s. At the turn of the 1900s a two story building addition was added on the East side of the Courthouse.
During the Battle of Lexington in 1861, the courthouse was fired upon, leaving a cannon ball in one of the columns.
Lafayette Hall
In 1905, the Lexington City Hall was built down the block from the courthouse. The building has a floating dome, which was used during WWII for civil defense watches. In 2003, the county began a new project to renovate the building along with building new detention facilities for a new justice center. The building has been renamed Lafayette Hall, and currently holds the County Circuit Clerk Offices.
Justice Center
The original Lafayette County Jail was built in 1932 with funds from the Federal Works Administration under President Roosevelt. In 2002 a tax was passed that would fund a new building. The new jail housed its first inmates in the fall of 2004. The jail project is part of the Lafayette County Justice Center.
