If you are planning on moving to Lafayette, Indiana, you are probably looking for a little more information, and you have come to the right place! Lafayette, Indiana, is actually two separate cities – Lafayette, and West Lafayette, that lie on either side of the Wabash River. It has a population of just over 67,000 people, and is the 215th largest city in the US.
Economy:
The biggest single employer in Lafayette is Purdue University, with nearly half of the population being employed by the university! There's also the Purdue Research Park, a 650 acre development that houses over one hundred high tech companies, but there are also several large non-academic companies and employers in the city. Subaru and Wabash Truck Trailers, for instance, are involved in the automotive industry, as well as Caterpillar's Large Engine Division, and then there are Evonik, who are a chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturer, and several other large manufacturing concerns. The city is actively encouraging small business and commerce, and there's no doubt that there will be plenty more state to state moving companies travelling to Lafayette in the years to come.
Tourism:
Anyone moving to Lafayette is sure to be spoiled for choice when it comes to local attractions and activities. From the historic architecture in the nine different neighbourhoods registered on the national register of historic places, to Fort Ouiatenon, built by the French in 1717, to the Red Crown Mini Museum, and plenty of other interesting sites, there is a lot to see in Lafayette. Nature lovers will enjoy the Clegg Botanical Gardens, and the Prophet's Town National Park, and the Downtown area offers eateries, nightlife and more. Wolf Park, a research center, devoted to the gray wolf, is another interesting outing, or you could take a walking tour of the Purdue Campus, or the Downtown area. Newer attractions in the area include the Lafayette Brewing Company, opened in 1993, and the Wildcat Creek Winery, that opened its doors in 2008.
History:
The French were the first Europeans to establish a presence in the area now known as Lafayette, in 1717. Before then, various groups of Native American people inhabited the area, including the Ouiatenon, as well as the Weas, Shawnee and other tribes; the town was officially formed in 1825, after a young man called William Digby bought the land, and it was named for war hero, General Lafayette, and soon became the county seat. In 1859, using a hot air balloon, Professor John Wise launched the first official air mail flight in the US. In 1869, Purdue University, still one of the main attractions in Lafayette, was founded, and in 1874, it opened for the first official classes. Even though West Lafayette and Lafayette continue to be, officially, separate towns, they share many attractions, and are usually spoken of as a single city – Lafayette-West Lafayette.