Fayette County
Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Fayette County. One of three original counties formed when Kentucky Co., Virginia, was divided by Va. Act in 1780. Included area north and east of Ky. River, 37 present-day counties and parts of 7 others. Reduced to its present boundaries by 1799. Named for Marquis de Lafayette, French champion of liberty, who came to America in 1777 to assist with our war for independence.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Fayette County was one of three original counties carved out in 1780 when Virginia divided its vast Kentucky County, at first sprawling across the land north and east of the Kentucky River — territory that today holds dozens of counties. By 1799 it had shrunk to its present size around Lexington. It carries the name of the Marquis de Lafayette, the young French nobleman who crossed the Atlantic in 1777 to fight for American independence.
Why it matters
The rapid subdivision of Kentucky's frontier counties charts how quickly the new republic organized and governed its western lands, and honoring Lafayette in the wilderness shows how the Revolution's ideals traveled west with its settlers.
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Related people
- · Marquis de Lafayette
Themes & tags
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