Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
West Lafayette
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
West Lafayette: Purdue University Purdue University
Quizzes
Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.
Guess the City by Its River Quiz
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
West Lafayette: Purdue University
West Lafayette: Purdue University Cary Quadrangle, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

West Lafayette

Indiana, United States
Also known as: Chauncey, Kingston
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

West Lafayette, city, Tippecanoe county, west-central Indiana, U.S. It lies along the Wabash River (bridged) opposite Lafayette. A town was platted on the west bank of the Wabash in 1836, but it failed to attract settlers because it was located in an area prone to flooding. A second settlement was founded on higher ground in 1855 as Kingston; it was later reorganized and combined with the adjacent town of Chauncey in 1866 under the latter town’s name. It was renamed West Lafayette in 1888. Primarily residential, it is the seat of Purdue University (1869). Nearby are the Tippecanoe Battlefield National Historic Landmark and the site of Fort Ouiatenon (1717), the first white settlement in Indiana and a trading and military post controlled at different times by the French, British, and Native Americans. Inc. 1924. Pop. (2000) 28,778; (2010) 29,596.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.