Lafayette County is named for Marie Joseph Paul Lafayette, who was a French general who fought in the American Revolutionary War and who lived from 1757 to 1834.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Ray County and Carroll County
E – Saline County
S – Johnson County
W – Jackson County
Created: November 16, 1820 
County Seat:
Mount Vernon 1821 – 1823
Lexington 1823 – present
County Courthouse – Lexington
Location: 1001 Main Street / South 10th Street
Built: 1847 – 1849
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: William Daugherty
Contractor: William Hunter and John Alford (brick work) and James A Crump (stone work).
Description: The building faces north and is a two story white colored limestone structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Lexington, The north front of the building has four large Ionic columns supporting a pediment at the roof line. The first story entrance is recessed. Above the pediment is a square cupola with clock and round silver colored dome. In the interior, the first story has the small County Court courtroom. The larger Circuit Court courtroom is located at the rear of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court. On the east side is a one story annex built in 1854. Further east is a two story square white annex built in the 1880’s.
Note: The building is the oldest courthouse in Missouri still in service.
See: The other temple-type courthouses still in use as the official county building is located in Ralls County. Caldwell County and Ray County had courthouses built on the same plan.
County Courthouse Annex – Lexington
Location: 116 South 10th Street / Main Street
Built: 1904 – 1905
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Oswald Winkler
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and stone structure. The building was constructed as the City Hall. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Lexington to the south of the courthouse. The west front has a large arched entrance with pilasters rising on either side and at the corners. There is a similar arch on the south side. At the roof line, peaks rise above the entrances. On the center of the roof is a floating white colored dome. The building is connected to the courthouse. The building is named as Lafayette Hall. In 2003 to 2005, the building was converted to house court facilities. The architect was SFS Architects and the contractor was J E Dunn Construction.
See: The 15th Judicial District covers Lafayette County and Saline County.
History: The county was created as Lillard County in 1820 and Mount Vernon was selected as the county seat in 1821. The court met in private homes. In 1823 the county seat was moved to Lexington and the name was changed to Lafayette County in 1825, The court met in Dr. Bucks house, located at the corner of 24th Street and South Street. The first courthouse was built by Henry Renick in 1824 to 1825. The second courthouse was built in 1835 with Mr. Rollins doing the masonry and Charles Thomas doping the carpentry. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1847 to 1849 at a cost of $14,382.46. The County Courthouse Annex was constructed in 1905 to 1906.
County Courthouse – Lexington
County Courthouse Annex – Lexington
Photos taken 2009