West Lafayette, Indiana, USA | |
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City | |
West Lafayette Public Library, with Purdue campus skyline in background
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Nickname(s): West Side | |
Coordinates: 40°26′31″N 86°54′45″W / 40.44194°N 86.91250°WCoordinates: 40°26′31″N 86°54′45″W / 40.44194°N 86.91250°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Indiana |
County | Tippecanoe |
Township | Wabash |
Incorporated | 1888 |
Government | |
• Mayor CAT | John Dennis (R) |
Area | |
• City | 7.63 sq mi (19.76 km2) |
• Land | 7.62 sq mi (19.74 km2) |
• Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
• Metro | 904.6 sq mi (2,343 km2) |
Elevation | 614 ft (187 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• City | 29,596 |
• Estimate (2014) | 32,109 |
• Density | 3,884.0/sq mi (1,499.6/km2) |
• Metro | 182,821 |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 47906 |
Area code(s) | 765 |
FIPS code | 18-82862 |
GNIS feature ID | 445775 |
Website | http://www.city.west-lafayette.in.us/ |
West Lafayette /ˌwɛst ˌlɑːfiˈɛt/ is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and 103 miles (166 km) southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, Lafayette. As of the 2010 census, its population was 29,796. It is the most densely populated city in Indiana and is home to Purdue University.
Augustus Wylie laid out a town in 1836 in the Wabash River floodplain south of the present Levee. Due to regular flooding of the site, Wylie's town was never built. The present city was formed in 1888 by the merger of the adjacent suburban towns of Chauncey, Oakwood, and Kingston, located on a bluff across the Wabash River from Lafayette, Indiana. The three towns had been small suburban villages which were directly adjacent to one another. Kingston was laid out in 1855 by Jesse B. Lutz. Chauncey was platted in 1860 by the Chauncey family of Philadelphia, wealthy land speculators. Chauncey and Kingston formed a municipal government in 1866 which selected the name "Chauncey".