LaFayette High School

LaFayette High School

LaFayette, Illinois

Lafayette High School

Panther Mascot

The History of LaFayette High School

The village of LaFayette is located on IL Rt. 17, approximately 12 miles south-southwest of Kewanee. The population of 227 sits quietly on the western boundry of Stark County. The first classes at LaFayette High School were held in 1891 in a building downtown. The high school moved to a location on the southern edge of the town in 1899, where that building still stands today.

LHS was deactivated in 1970 when LaFayette merged with Toulon, along with the grade school in West Jersey, to create Toulon-LaFayette High School. The LaFayette High School building was home to the grade school kids from the area until 1978.

Toulon LaFayette High School merged with Wyoming High School in 1992 to create Stark County High School located in Toulon.

The LaFayette High School building still stands tall and is owned by the LaFayette Park District, where it is rented out for family reunions and alumni dinners.

LaFayette High School Quick Facts

Year school opened: 1891

Year school closed: 1970

School colors: Purple & White

School nickname: "Panthers"

School Fight Song: see below

LaFayette High School Fight Song

Three cheers for old LaFayette High

We're out to win this game by and by

For our team will do its part

We've got the spirit from the start

We'll take the victory

We'll take the fall

Old LaFayette High will win over all

And we'll live up to our name

Of Good Ole LaFayette High!

Rah! Rah!

Athletics

According to the IHSA web site (www.ihsa.org), LaFayette High School basketball was a great success in LaFayette. LHS brought home SEVEN District titles during its existence. Pretty incredible for probably one of the smaller schools in its area! LaFayette High School basketball successes are listed below. Under the guidance of Coach Ken Elliot, the Panthers went 128-52 from 1930-1939, winning 23 trophies over that period. LaFayette became a member of the Inter-County Activities Conference during the 1952-53 school year. Prior to that, the Panthers had been members of the Star League, which included schools from Oneida, Altona, Williamsfield, Wataga, and Victoria. More information is being sought regarding the records and coach's names of the teams. See photos of the 1939 and 1967 basketball teams below.

Lafayette High School Basketball

1938-39 District Champs with Coach Ken Elliot

Lafayette High School Basketball

1966-67

Boys Basketball

1935-36 District Champions Coach Ken Elliot

1938-39 District Champions Coach Ken Elliot

1939-40 District Champions

1954-55 12-7 District Champions Coach Dick Higgins

1955-56 13-7 District Champions Coach Dick Higgins

1958-59 District Champions Coach L.E. Davis

1959-60 18-7 Coach L.E. Davis

1960-61 District Champions Coach L.E. Davis

Football

LaFayette offered football beginning in 1897. Not much is known about the Panthers' gridiron stories or how long LaFayette hosted the sport.

It is known that the 1922-23 season (see photo below) was unbelievable for the Panthers. That season, led by their Coach, Professor Dunlap, little LHS finished 9-0 outscoring opponents 341-41!! Victories that year included a 73-0 win over Woodhull and a 76-0 defeat over Neponset. Only three schools scored on the Panthers that season: Abingdon, Chillicothe, and Toulon. The final game of the year was against Stark County rival Toulon, in which the 39-6 LHS win was witnessed by more than 1,200 people. No football was played between 1924 and 1927 at LaFayette, but was brought back in 1928, but for how long, is not known at this time.

LaFayette High School Football Team of 1923

Undefeated 9-0 Season

Cross-Country

LaFayette began offering the long distance sport in 1934 under the tutelage of Coach Ken Elliot, who also served as boys' basketball and track coach. In a dual meet LHS defeated Pekin that first year, handing PHS their first dual meet loss in the sport in 4 years. During LaFayette's "run" in the sport of Cross Country, the Panthers faced such competitors as big schools from Evanston, Oak Park, Bloomington, LaSalle-Peru, and Champaign. At this time it is not known how long the sport was offered at LHS.

Baseball

Not much is known at this time about the LaFayette High School baseball teams. The Panthers were Conference champs in the Inter-County Athletic Conference (ICAC) during the 1958-59 season. That year the Panthers went 5-0 in conference play behind the .563 average of Junior Bob Jones. More information is needed on the baseball program at LaFayette High.

1958-59 5-0 ICAC Champs Coach unknown

Track & Field

We know that the boys competed in the annual Stark County Track & Field Meet through the closing of the school in 1970. The LaFayette High School boys won a Stark County High School Track Meet championship in 1923. The following information regarding this meet was provided to us by John Ballentine:

"The Stark County track/field and declamatory meet was a major event for decades. It was fiercely fought in order to win that particular year and claim county bragging rights. Businesses and schools, even the grade schools, were closed early in order to attend the afternoon meet. Main streets resembled ghost towns because a majority of the county's population was at the contest.
Records were kept and trophies, plaques, ribbons, etc. were awarded. Yet, in 1990 the county meet could no longer be held. Castleton High no longer existed, Toulon and LaFayette Highs were consolidated, and Bradford began co-opting with Tiskilwa to form a track team. Since Tiskilwa was not part of Stark County, this eliminated Bradford's participation leaving only Toulon-LaFayette and Wyoming as the competitors from the original 5 schools. Therefore, the meet was permanently discontinued after 1989."

Other Sports

It is also known that LaFayette offered Bowling. More information is needed on accomplishments in that sport along with any information on Track & Field teams from LaFayette.

Great Coach

Not only his success on the hardwood floors at LaFayette High School, Ken Elliot was the head man behind Cross-Country and the Track & Field teams at LaFayette High School from 1930 to 1939. In basketball, Coach Elliot garnered a record of 128-52 in those years, winning 23 trophies for LHS. Coach Elliot also started up the Cross Country program in 1934, a rarity for such a small school. Ken Elliot left the LaFayette school district for Maquon, where he took over coaching duties for their boy' basketball and track & field teams.

LaFayette High School Enrollment (Grades 9 - 12)

1954-55 38

1955-56 42

1956-57 47

We Are Seeking More Information

We are looking for information regarding the better teams which competed at LaFayette. Also, any information regarding the nickname, school colors, ect. would be appreciated. You can supply this information by completing a School Submission Form or by writing us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il. 60631

LaFayette High School

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LaFayette High School