Lafayette, Indiana

Lafayette is the county seat of Tippecanoe County in northwestern Indiana, in the midwestern United States, on the southeast bank of the Wabash River across from West Lafayette, where Purdue University stands. It was platted in May 1825 by the trader William Digby at the point where the river stops being passable for riverboats, and was named for the French general the Marquis de Lafayette, who had toured the country in 1824 and 1825. A French fort and trading post, Fort Ouiatenon, had operated nearby since 1717, and the town started as a river shipping center. The 2020 census counted 70,783 residents in the city, and together with West Lafayette it forms the core of a metropolitan area of 235,066 people. It lies 63 miles northwest of Indianapolis and 125 miles southeast of Chicago.