Lafayette County was created December 23, 1856 from part of Madison County, and included at the time what is now both Lafayette and Dixie Counties. Lafayette County was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French citizen who rendered assistance to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The Suwannee River forms the entire eastern border. The county courts first met at the home of Ariel Jones near Fayetteville. The county seat was New Troy until the court house there burned down in 1892. It was then moved to Mayo in 1893, and Mayo is currently Lafayette's only incorporated town. New Troy is now a ghost town. In 1921 the lower part of the county was carved off to create Dixie County.