Editing Lafayette, Indiana (section)

==History==
When European explorers arrived at this area, it was inhabited by a tribe of [[Miami people|Miami]] Native Americans known as the Ouiatenon or [[Wea]]s. In 1717, the French government established [[Fort Ouiatenon]] across the [[Wabash River]] and {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} south of present-day Lafayette. The fort became the center of trade for fur trappers, merchants and Indians. An annual [[Historical reenactment|reenactment]] and festival known as [[Feast of the Hunters' Moon]] is held there each autumn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/feast.htm|title=Feast of the Hunters' Moon|publisher=Tippecanoe County Historical Association|access-date=1 June 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620084610/http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/feast.htm|archive-date=20 June 2009}}</ref>

[[File:LafayetteIN1868.JPG|thumb|left|Lafayette, 1868]]

The town of Lafayette was [[plat]]ted in May 1825 by William Digby, a trader. It was designated as the county seat of the newly formed [[Tippecanoe County, Indiana|Tippecanoe County]] the following year. Like many frontier towns, Lafayette was named for [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|General Lafayette]], a French officer who significantly aided [[George Washington]]'s [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Lafayette [[Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States|toured the United States in 1824 and 1825.]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Lafayette History|url=https://www.homeofpurdue.com/ourcommunity/areahistory.html|website=Home Of Purdue|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>

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 titled ''Valley of the Upper Wabash, Indiana, with Hints on Its Agricultural Advantages,'' to promote settlement of the region. By 1845, Ellsworth had purchased {{convert|93000|acre|km2}} of farmland around Lafayette and moved there from [[Connecticut]] to supervise land sales.<ref>[http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/index.php?q=1845 A Day in the Life of Tippecanoe County] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906005344/http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/index.php?q=1845|date=6 September 2006}}, Tippecanoe County Historical Association</ref> By 1847 Ellsworth was distributing broadsides looking for farmers to purchase his farmland.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://drs.library.yale.edu:8083/fedora/get/mssa:ms.0196/PDF |title=Guide to the Henry Leavitt Ellsworth Papers, Yale University Library |access-date=November 20, 2009 |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701154605/http://drs.library.yale.edu:8083/fedora/get/mssa:ms.0196/PDF |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 the [[Indiana House of Representatives]].<ref>[http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/?q=1851 A Day in the Life of Tippecanoe County, Tippecanoe County Historical Association] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106063503/http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/?q=1851|date=6 November 2007}}</ref> Ellsworth Street and Ellsworth Historic District are named for him.<ref>During the period of Ellsworth's residence in Lafayette, two of his children came to national attention. His son Henry William Ellsworth was confirmed as United States ''[[chargé d'affaires]]'' at [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]], in January 1846; and Ellsworth's daughter Annie suggested the words of the first telegraph message sent by her father's friend [[Samuel F. B. Morse]] in May 1844.</ref>

The [[Wabash and Erie Canal]] in the 1840s stimulated trade and affirmed Lafayette's regional prominence. [[Rail transport|Railroads]] arrived in the town in the 1850s, connecting it with other major markets. The [[Monon 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, when [[John Wise (balloonist)|John Wise]] piloted a balloon starting on the Lafayette courthouse grounds. Wise hoped to reach [[New York (state)|New York]]; however, weather conditions forced the balloon down near [[Crawfordsville, 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.<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.com/~intippec/airmail.htm First Air Mail Flight] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118080446/http://www.rootsweb.com/~intippec/airmail.htm|date=18 November 2007}}</ref>