 lafayette county is a county located in the western portion of the u.s. state of missouri. as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,381. its county seat is lexington. the county was organized november 16, 1820 from cooper county and originally named lillard county for james lillard of tennessee, who served in the first state constitutional convention and first state legislature.   it was renamed lafayette county on february 16, 1825, in honor of revolutionary war hero the marquis de la fayette, who was then visiting the united states. lafayette county is part of the kansas city, mo-ks metropolitan statistical area. ==history== lafayette county was settled primarily from migrants from the upper southern states of kentucky, tennessee and virginia. they brought slaves and slaveholding traditions and started cultivating crops similar to those in middle tennessee and kentucky: hemp and tobacco. as a result, this part of missouri, and neighboring counties, became known as little dixie. in 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's population, and the county was strongly pro-confederate during the american civil war.t. j. stiles, jesse james: the last rebel of the civil war, new york: vintage books, 2003, pp
1820_establishments_in_Missouri_Territory Lafayette_County,_Missouri Little_Dixie_(Missouri) Missouri_counties Missouri_counties_on_the_Missouri_River Populated_places_established_in_1820