Lafayette County, Missouri

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Lafayette County is a county in the western portion of Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,984.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Lexington.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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

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.<ref>"Public servant steals $1.5 million from two tiny towns in Missouri"; The Kansas City Star; November 22, 2013</ref><ref>"Treasurer admits to embezzling over $1 million from small towns’ funds:; Fox4KC; November 22, 2013.</ref><ref>Treasurer for road district and fire district pleads guilty to embezzling $1.5 million; justice.gov; November 20, 2013.</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.6%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

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

Major highways

National protected area

Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Template:US Census population

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 32,960 people, 12,569 households, and 9,099 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 13,707 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. 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.

2020 Census

Lafayette County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	29,256	88.7%
Black or African American (NH)	671	2%
Native American (NH)	138	0.42%
Asian (NH)	115	0.35%
Pacific Islander (NH)	12	0.04%
Other/Mixed (NH)	1,745	5.3%
Hispanic or Latino	1,047	3.2%

Education

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 Template:Webarchive – 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 Template:Webarchive – Higginsville (K-09) – Lutheran
Victory Christian Fellowship School Template:Webarchive – 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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Trails Regional Library<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.

Template:Missouri county elected officials

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results
Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2024	73.38% 12,571	25.01% 4,285	1.60% 275
2020	71.85% 12,238	26.13% 4,451	2.02% 244
2016	57.85% 9,167	38.47% 6,097	3.68% 583
2012	47.91% 7,537	49.31% 7,758	2.78% 438
2008	42.70% 7,022	55.09% 9,060	2.21% 364
2004	52.97% 8,541	45.59% 7,351	1.43% 231
2000	50.32% 7,276	47.94% 6,932	1.74% 251
1996	34.00% 4,450	63.05% 8,252	2.94% 385