Lafayette was founded in 1888 by Mary E. (Foote) Miller. She and her husband, Lafayette Miller, had moved to the area to farm land they had purchased from Denver coal speculators Francis P. Heatly and Edward Chase. The farm also included land acquired by Mary's brother, James B. Foote and father, John B. Foote via the Homestead Act in 1871. In 1874 the Millers moved to Boulder. Lafayette Miller ran a butcher shop and was a town trustee. Lafayette Miller died in Boulder in 1878, after which Mary Miller moved back to the farm with their six small children. In 1884 coal was discovered on the Miller farm, and in 1887 John H. Simpson acquired a coal lease from James B. Foote and sank the first Simpson Mine shaft, thereby starting the coal mining era. In 1888 Mary Miller designated of the farm for the town of Lafayette, which she named after her late husband. In July 1888 a second mine, the Cannon, went into operation and the first houses were built. Mary Miller submitted a revised plat for the town in 1889. Also in early 1889, Mary Miller leased the rights to mine coal for 12.5 cents per ton to Charles Spencer and John H. Simpson. The two commenced sinking the Spencer coal mine 200 yards west of the Simpson coal mine. On April 2, 1889, the town of Lafayette was incorporated. As stipulated in the original property deeds for the platting, no alcohol could be sold or distributed east of what is now known as Public Road. In 1904, the Lafayette Town Board mandated that the "alcohol clause" be added to all platted additions to Lafayette.