Lafayette, OR: See how this Historic Agricultural town connects to the early Suffrage Movement
June 2024: We stopped by LaFayette, OR (pop.4,423*) as part of our Wine Tasting tour day and is about 35 miles southwest of Portland, OR, and less than 10 miles from nearby small towns of Dundee (pop.3,238*) and Dayton (pop. 2,678*). Lafayette had several neat businesses on Main Street that we explored, as well as a park dedicated to a local Suffragette.
Lafayette is located in beautiful Yamhill County, the heart of the Willamette Valley and wine country of Oregon, just 35 miles southwest of Portland and 25 miles north of Salem. It is located on the Yamhill River and Oregon Route 99W.
LaFayette – A Brief History
(source: Wikipedia, an Abilgail Scott Park historical sign and Layfayette City Website)
Lafayette was situated on the main Native American trail that traversed the Willamette Valley at a point on the Yamhill River known for years as Yamhill Falls.
Lafayette was founded in 1846 by Joel Perkins, an American pioneer and entrepreneur, who had previously lived in Lafayette, Indiana and named the new settlement similarly after Marquis de Lafayette, a general involved in the American Revolutionary War. A fun piece of trivia is that this is the same Lafayette featured in the popular musical Hamilton.
The post office was established in 1851, and the city was incorporated in 1878 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Lafayette was the county seat of Yamhill County from its founding until 1889, when county residents voted to move the county seat to McMinnville. The town grew slowly at first, but grew by leaps and bounds after gold was discovered in California. In the early 1850’s, Lafayette was one of the most important and prosperous cities in Oregon.
Links to the Suffrage Movement: Abilgail Scott Duniway (1834-1915)
In 1860, Abigail Jane Scott Duniway and six other women attended a campaign speech by a candidate for US Senate, which was considered shocking at a time when women didn’t take part in ay aspect of political life. Abigail and her husband lived in Lafayette area for 8 years, during which time she published her first novel, took in boarders, taught at her own Union School while raising 5 sons and 1 daughter. They moved to Portland in 1871 where she published an influential weekly human rights newspaper. Her work in the Suffrage movement included partnering with Susan B Anthony. The right to vote was granted to women of Oregon in 1912. Today the Abigail Scott Duniway Park in Lafayette recognizes and honors her contributions to the early Suffrage Movement.
In 1995, because of the beautiful farm country around the city, the development of the Oregon wine industry and tourism in Yamhill County, and its proximity to the Portland metro area, Lafayette began to grow very rapidly, and it continues to expand today.
Our 2 favorite community places in Lafayette, plus a couple of others…
While in Lafayette for an afternoon, we visited a couple of places we want to share.
The first is the very vibrantly colored Market called Carniceria Abastos on the main street (99W). In addition to grocery items with lots of produce, it also had a tasty-looking food counter.
The second place we enjoyed was a new business called Manna Cloud with a “Geek Boutique” tag line and the goal to “cultivate an eclectic assortment of nerd-cultured clothing, accessories, and board/tabletop games within a fun and friendly community atmosphere!”. How cool for the community youth to have such a place to hang out!
Since our stay in Lafayette was short, we didn’t get to visit all the businesses that caught our attention but still wanted to give a couple of them a shout-out.
- Hamblin Eatery – Google Maps – restaurant on the main business street with great reviews and beautiful interior photos… lots of vibe!
- Martha’s Tacos & More – Google Maps – restaurant on the main business street with great reviews and a tasty menu.
- Roadhouse Pub – Google Maps – restaurant on the main business street with great reviews!
- Redtail Espresso LLC – Google Maps – Coffee Shop with great reviews; sorry we missed this one!
- Lafayette Schoolhouse Antique Mall – Google Maps – vintage treasures in an old Schoolhouse; Bummer – we just missed their open hours when we stopped by. Great reviews and photos online.
More to Explore!
Lafayette does not seem to cater to the Winery tourists in the same way as nearby Dundee, but instead more of a bedroom community for area workers, with deeply historic roots.
Organizations that support community in Lafayette
- City website
- Layfayette Urban Renewal District – “An Urban Renewal District is a special district, legally distinct from the City government, that is funded by tax increment financing to carry out projects within the boundaries of a defined area or district. The Lafayette Urban Renewal District was formed in 2022 and the board is comprised of the City Council.”
- Lafayette Downtown Association
- Lafayette Community Activities Team (LCAT) – “an independent non-profit organization of a growing group of citizens who work together for the betterment of our community through wholesome family activities and services. We are a new community organization that is striving to create, manage and conduct events for Lafayette’s Community and all age groups. LCAT plans, organizes and puts on community events such as the annual 4th of July Celebration, Harvest Fest and Tree-Lighting events.”
