Lafayette (1889, 5,237 feet) was named for 1870s pioneer Lafayette Miller, whose wife, Mary, owned the land on which the town was built. Coal was discovered on the Miller farm in 1884, and Lafayette became a major coal town. Most of the mines closed by 1950, but Lafayette is now booming again as a bedroom community of Denver and Boulder.
Although little remains of the mines, individual buildings representing the mining era have been preserved in a National Register district honoring coal miners. Notable structures include the Boulder Valley Grange Hall (1900), 3400 North 95th Street; the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company Store (1901), 400 East Simpson Street; the Miller House (1889), 409 East Cleveland Street (at Michigan Avenue); and the Sonic Drive-In, 50 Waneka Parkway.
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