Biohazard Cleanup Near Commanche Lafayette, IN

Lafayette was platted in May 1825 by river trader William Digby, who named it for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French Revolutionary War hero who was then touring the United States.

Lafayette became the county seat of the newly formed Tippecanoe County in 1826 and grew as a shipping center at the head of steamboat navigation on the Wabash River.

Lafayette's regional importance grew further when the Wabash and Erie Canal reached it in the 1840s, followed by the railroads in the 1850s.

Lafayette was the site of the first official airmail delivery in the United States on August 17, 1859, when balloonist John Wise lifted off from the courthouse grounds carrying mail.

The famous Battle of Tippecanoe, fought in 1811 between U.S. forces under William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh's confederacy, took place about seven miles from present-day Lafayette.

Lafayette's population was 70,783 in the 2020 census, up from 67,140 in 2010.

Lafayette has about 32,200 households according to Census Bureau QuickFacts, with an owner-occupied housing rate of about 47% and a median owner-occupied home value of about $172,800.

Lafayette is home to Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Subaru's only manufacturing plant outside Asia, which employs more than 6,000 people and builds about half of all Subaru vehicles sold in North America.

The Lafayette Subaru plant began production on September 11, 1989, as a Subaru-Isuzu joint venture, and models built there include the Ascent, Crosstrek, Legacy and Outback.

Eli Lilly began a pharmacy apprenticeship in Lafayette in 1854, and his company later opened its Tippecanoe Laboratories plant in the city in 1953.