The Lafayette Academy, a three-room brick structure, was built during the mid 1800's, and Lafayette College was built in 1901 and burned in 1923 according to the late County Historian, Harold G. Blankenship's book, History of Macon County, Tennessee.

It has been said that Macon County, which had no railroad system, remained mostly isolated until Highway 52 was cut through across the county making it more accessible to neighboring towns.

Today, Lafayette still has a few businesses around the square, but most of the growth of new businesses are expanding outward from downtown, i.e. the new Criminal Justice facility, North Central Telephone Company, Macon County Junior High School, Tri-County EMC.

In recent years, an addition has been built onto the Macon County Public Library which serves the Lafayette area, and a new library facility is now located in Red Boiling Springs.

The Macon County Fair is still held each year at the Lafayette fairgrounds located near the airport.

The local newspaper in Lafayette, The Macon County Times, was founded in 1919, and still continues to publish a weekly edition. There were other earlier publications, but they did not last long.

The Chamber of Commerce and Lafayette Post Office are located in Lafayette. Farming is still a big business. Burley tobacco is the main crop for the many county farmers who still prefer the good life on the farm.

In today's economy, small factories cannot compete, and Lafayette lost several of these businesses in recent years. However, many new businesses now are located here, as the population growth has increased with many citizens moving here from out-of-state.

From a population of only 126 in the 1850 census, Lafayette now has a population of 3,885 according to the last census.

It is a growing city with a hospital, library, radio station, many churches, police and fire protection, weekly newspaper, civic organizations, a Chamber of Commerce, and most of all, good, friendly people.