Formed February 9, 1836 (49th county)
Lafayette County (55,812), Oxford (25,424)
The 1872 white stucco and masonry Greek Revival and Italianate facility is located on a square at Jackson, Lamar, Van Buren, and 12th streets. Mississippi Highway 7 is three blocks to the south of the courthouse. The courthouse was remodeled in 1903 and 1981, enlarged in 1952 and restored in 2008. A Chauncey Courthouse was added in 2002. The county was organized on February 9, 1836 from Monroe County as the 49th county with Oxford as the only county seat. Willis, Sloan, and Trigg are the building designers. It features a dome, working clock, and iron fence. The county is named for Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. He is also the namesake of the county seat of Jefferson County. The county seat is named for Oxford, England. Lafayette County was the birthplace for 2 Mississippi Governors, Lee M. Russell and William L. Waller, Sr.
Lafayette County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Two Chancery Court Judges serve Lafayette, Benton, Calhoun, Marshall, and Tippah counties, Three District Court Judges serve Lafayette, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Marshall, Tippah, and Union counties and a court clerk serves Lafayette County (judicial.) The county is in the northern part of the state. Memphis, Tennessee is northwest and Jackson, Mississippi is southwest of the county. The county center is in Oxford .9 miles East-Southeast of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Marshall, Union, Pontotoc, Calhoun, Yalobusha, Panola, and Tate counties.
The area of the county is 631 square miles. It is 29 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 14 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 88.5 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 82 in the state. Lafayette County has 46.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 278 travels east to west through the county from Pontotoc County to Panola County. The county looks like a faucet. Oxford is in the western third of the county. Oxford is the county seat and the largest city. It is 45.6% of the county population. This county is in the Oxford Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Abbeville
Oxford
Taylor
