LaFayette History Home
Also known as the “Queen City of the Highlands,” LaFayette retains a
number of buildings and sites that allow visitors to experience the area’s rich Native American, Civil War, and African American Heritage and history.The city’s historic textile-based economy is evident in the neighborhoods thatdeveloped around the cotton mills. The West LaFayette commercial district sprouted along the railroad that promoted economic development.
Chattooga Academy, the Marsh House, and LaFayette Presbyterian Church served as the stage for significant events, including the planning of the Battle of Chickamauga. The monument where Fort Cumming once stood is a reminder that this area opened for white settlement after the Cherokees were removed on the Trail of Tears.
Early settlements at LaFayette were called Chattooga, Chattoogaville, and Benton. The city was incorporated on September 30, 1835, and was renamed in 1836 after the Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who assisted American colonists during the Revolutionary War and later renounced his title. The name has been written frequently as La Fayette, and now LaFayette is generally accepted.