Fayette

Formed June 12, 1837 (25^th county)

Fayette County (24,436), La Grange (4,387)

The ornate stone Romanesque Revival courthouse is located on the square at Travis and Main streets.  Texas State Highway 71 bypasses the city center to the north but its business route and United States Highway 77 intersect at the square.  The 1891 building’s designer was J. Riely Gordon.  The building was restored in 2004.  Four courthouses have been in the county since June 12, 1837 and all of them have been in La Grange.  Fayette County was cut from parts of Bastrop and Colorado counties as the 25^th county.  The county was named for Marquis de Lafayette, French patriot and participant in America’s and Texas’s founding.  La Grange got its name from the region’s early settlers for La Grange, Tennessee. 

Fayette County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Fayette, Austin, and Waller counties and One County Court Judge serves Fayette County.  The county is in the south-central river estuary area between San Antonio, Texas to the west and Houston, Texas to the east.  The Colorado River cuts through the county from northwest to southeast.  The county center is 4.6 miles Southwest of La Grange nearer Hostyn.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lee, Washington, Austin, Colorado, Lavaca, Gonzales, Caldwell, and Bastrop counties. 

The area of the county is 950 square miles.  It is 85 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 102 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 25.7 persons per square mile making it 113 out of 254 in the state.  Fayette County has 37.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses the southern part of the county from Colorado County, east, to Gonzales County, west.  United States Highway 77 enters from the north, Lee County, and exits to the south, Lavaca County.  United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 going from Colorado County to Gonzales County.  Another of the 45-degree skewed rectangular counties; La Grange is near the geographic center of the county.  La Grange is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 18.0% of the county population.