Lafayette Colorado Real Estate

Like many of the communities of the high plains, Lafayette was founded by settlers who moved to the area establishing farms under the Homestead Act of 1871. Lafayette was founded by Mary Miller in 1888 after leaving Boulder when her husband died to move back to her farm. In 1884, coal was discovered on the Miller farm, and the area's rich mining tradition began. In 1988 Mary Miller deeded 150 acres of her farm to become the Town of Lafayette, named after her late husband.

Lafayette quickly became a part of the coal mining boom that eastern Boulder and southwestern Weld counties were experiencing. Lafayette continued to thrive as a coal mining town until 1956 when the Black Diamond Mine, Lafayette's last coal mine closed.

Today, Lafayette is a thriving community, with the cultural and commercial center still being found in the revitalized Old Town district, especially along Public Road. The town hosts a variety of unique events each year, including an Oatmeal Festival in cooperation with the Quaker Oats Company, a Peach Festival, a Wine Festival, and Lafayette Days, and is a source of employees to the area's major employers.