1797Military
These initial contacts developed into conflict, with years of armed struggle, including a battle on what is currently Lafayette soil in 1797 between the Saclan and the Spanish, ...
1834History
Most of what is currently Lafayette was given as a Mexican land grant, Rancho Acalanes to Candelario Valencia in 1834.
1846History
Joseph, Missouri, in 1846.
1848History
He purchased Rancho Acalanes in 1848.
1852Culture
The settlement continued to steadily grow due to its proximity to San Francisco; starting with Brown's group of 18 settlers, by the census in 1852, 76 people were listed as livi...
1853Government
Brown founded a mill in 1853.
1857Civil Rights
On March 2, 1857, the LaFayette post office was established by the U.S.
1864History
In 1864 the place name "Lafayette" first appeared on a map of the area, titled "Bancroft's Map of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona (copyrighted 1863.
1865Education
By 1865 the school had expanded to 43 students in five classes, and so in 1868 a tax levy of $1,000 was used to build a new schoolhouse; school expanded from a five-month year t...
1893Education
In 1893, a new schoolhouse was built to accommodate the increasing number of students; this building still stands today.
1905History
Then by 1905 it was back to two words.
1910Culture
Carl Jennings (1910–2003) blacksmith and artist, owner of El Diablo Forge in Lafayette for many years
Henry J.
1932Civil Rights
Finally on March 31, 1932, the name of the post office was officially changed to Lafayette, which has remained unchanged to this day.
1941Architecture
=== Lafayette Park Theater ===
Another historical site found in Lafayette is the Park Theater, which first opened in 1941, and then ceased operations in 2005.
1951Education
Seaborg, University of California at Berkeley chemist and Nobel laureate (1951) prominent in the discovery of Plutonium (in 1941) and several transuranic elements.
1968Government
In the mid-1900s, Lafayette was transformed from an agricultural village into a commuter town, and was incorporated in 1968.
1972History
The record high temperature is 115 °F (46 °C), set in July 1972.
1980Military
Charles Tickner, Olympic bronze medalist figure skater in the 1980 Winter Olympics
Jake Larson, TikToker and World War II veteran.
1990History
The record low temperature is 19 °F (−7 °C), set in December 1990.
1993History
(The official document giving this exact date was supplied to the Lafayette Historical Society in 1993 by the Historical Division of the U.S.
2005History
It then showed its last movie before ceasing operations in 2005.
2020History
As of 2020, the city's population was 25,391.
2021History
== Government ==
As of February 10, 2021, Lafayette has 19,151 registered voters with 10,177 (53%) registered as Democrats, 3,813 (20%) registered as Republicans, and 4,298 (22%...
2025History
Died on July 17, 2025.