Lafayette, Yamhill County, Oregon Genealogy

LaFayette, Oregon- Two miles east of St. Joseph, on the West Side division of the Southern Pacific railroad, and located in Yamhill county, is the flourishing town of LaFayette. In addition to direct communication afforded LaFayette with Portland and the principal valley towns by the Southern Pacific line, the town is also on the line of the Oregonian [narrow gauge] railway, which runs south from Portland through the best part of the Willamette valley. Two passengers trains run each way daily over both lines past Lafayette, thus affording the latter place the best of transportation facilities.
     One of the most distinguishing features of LaFayette, and one in which the citizens take a great deal of pride, is the LaFayette Seminary, located at this point. The college is conducted under the auspices of the Educational Association of the Oregon Conference of the Evangelical Church, and all of its privileges are open to men and women alike. The curriculum prescribed and plan of discipline adopted for the guidance of students rank with the scope of more noted institutions of learning. The average attendance of this school during the past year was 80 students.
     The public school system of LaFayette is also especially worthy of mention here for the high degree of efficiency maintained. The public school is in charge of three experienced teachers, and the average enrollment of 125 scholars.
     LaFayette is an incorporated town, with a population of about 450. It is largely supported by a rich tributary farming district, the products of which consist chiefly of cereals, vegetables and fruits. The soil in this district is no less fertile than is the soil of the entire Willamette valley, and the prices asked for farming lands here are reasonable.
     A flouring mill with a daily capacity of 75 barrels supplies the citizens of LaFayette with an excellent quality of flour, and this mill also supplies the town of Dayton, a few miles distant.
     LaFayette supports one good weekly newspaper, The Yamhill County Ledger. It has two hotels, one livery stable and the various lines of mercantile business are well represented here.
     Three well supported churches, the Presbyterian, Methodist and Evangelical bespeak the moral tone of the community. The town supports a public hall with a seating capacity of 300. The place is particularly noted for the number of wealthy retired merchants it claims, ample evidence of the possibilities for obtaining wealth here in the past and which may be also accepted as evidence bearing on the capacity of the community for future prosperity.

The Oregonian's Handbook of the Pacific Northwest, c. 1894