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LaFayette, Alabama

LaFayette, Alabama
City
A statue honoring boxing legend and native citizen, Joe Louis, stands in Chambers County Courthouse Square in LaFayette.
A statue honoring boxing legend and native citizen, Joe Louis, stands in Chambers County Courthouse Square in LaFayette.
Location in Chambers County, Alabama
Location in Chambers County, Alabama
Coordinates: 32°53′54″N 85°24′2″W / 32.89833°N 85.40056°W / 32.89833; -85.40056
Country United States
State Alabama
County Chambers
Incorporated January 7, 1835
Named for Marquis de Lafayette
Government
 • Mayor Barry Moody
Area
 • Total 8.9 sq mi (23.0 km2)
 • Land 8.8 sq mi (22.9 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 843 ft (257 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 3,003
Time zone CST (UTC−6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−5)
ZIP code 36862
Area code 334
FIPS code 01-40672
GNIS feature ID 0164071
Website www.lafayetteal.com

LaFayette (pronounced /la-ˈfeɪ-ɛt/ lah-FAY-et, /la-ˈfaɪ-ɛt/ lah-FYE-et, or /ˈlʌ-feɪ-ɛt/ LUH-fay-et) is the county seat of Chambers County, Alabama, United States, 47 miles (76 km) northwest of Columbus, Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 3,003.

Chambers County was formed in 1832. The newly elected county officials opted to locate the county seat as near as possible to the center of the county. Lots for the new town were auctioned in October 1833, with proceeds from the sale financing the construction of a courthouse and jail. The town was first called "Chambersville", but by the time of incorporation on January 7, 1835, the town name had been changed to "Lafayette", named after the Marquis de Lafayette; its spelling was changed to "LaFayette" due to the influence of newspaper editor Johnson J. Hooper, who created a fictional character called Captain Simon Suggs, a backwoods southerner who pronounced the town's name as "La Fait". The city's newspaper, The LaFayette Sun, was founded under the name The Alabama Standard in April 1841 and adopted its current name on August 3, 1881.

Scenes from the movie Mississippi Burning were filmed at the Chambers County Courthouse and in downtown LaFayette.

Lafayette is the birthplace of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. An 8-foot (2.4 m) bronze statue, executed by sculptor Casey Downing Jr. of Mobile, Alabama, was erected in Louis' honor in front of the Chambers County courthouse. It is also the hometown of Hoyt L. Sherman, one of artist Roy Lichtenstein's principal art professor/mentors at Ohio State University.


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