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Missouri County
Lafayette County, Missouri
The Battle of Lexington and Missouri's hemp heritage - from the 1861 Battle of Lexington (the Civil War engagement where Confederate forces used water-soaked hemp bales as mobile breastworks to advance on Union positions - the "Battle of the Hemp Bales" is one of the Civil War's most unusual tactical episodes, reflecting Missouri's position as one of America's leading hemp producers) to Lexington's remarkable antebellum courthouse with a cannonball lodged in its column since 1861, and a Missouri River valley county whose agricultural and military heritage define a distinctive identity.
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Office: Lafayette County Emergency Management – 107 S 11th St, Lexington, MO 64067 | (660) 259-6551; Director Mark Appleby.
Sheriff: Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office – 107 S. 11th Street, Lexington, MO 64067 | (660) 259-3622 | Fax: (660) 259-2545; Sheriff Aaron Dye. Patrol Division covers roughly 632 square miles with deputies living throughout the county for faster emergency response.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-13 and US-24 serve Lexington, the county seat, on the Missouri River roughly 35 miles east of Kansas City.
Notes: Lafayette County offices are centered at 1001 Main St, Lexington, MO 64067, (660) 259-4315. Lexington was laid out in 1822 and named for Lexington, Kentucky, becoming county seat in 1823. Before the Civil War it was the most important river town between St. Louis and St. Joseph.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lafayette County Justice Center (new jail opened fall 2004) – Lexington, MO 64067. The historic 1932 county jail was built with Federal Works Administration funding under President Franklin Roosevelt.
Notes: Lexington is genuinely the site of the First Battle of Lexington (September 13-20, 1861), popularly known as the “Battle of the Hemp Bales” – one of the most vivid and unusual engagements of the entire Civil War. Confederate Missouri State Guard troops under Major General Sterling Price besieged a smaller Union garrison and, in a striking tactical innovation, advanced behind mobile breastworks made of water-soaked hemp bales (hemp was a major local crop) to shield themselves from Union fire as they climbed the Missouri River bluffs. The Union garrison, commanded by Col. James A. Mulligan, surrendered on September 20. The 100-acre battlefield is preserved as the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site, including the restored 1853 Anderson House, which changed hands three times during the fighting as a field hospital used by both armies; trench lines remain visible on the battlefield today. Lexington also suffered one of history’s worst steamboat disasters in 1852, when the Saluda exploded, killing roughly 250 people.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lafayette County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via lafayettecountymo.gov.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Kansas City VA Medical Center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Lexington Public Library – confirm current address/phone via lafayettecountymo.gov or lexingtonmo.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Battle of Lexington State Historic Site and Anderson House, the Lafayette County Courthouse (struck by a Confederate cannonball in 1861, with the cannonball still embedded in its column), and Lexington’s antebellum architecture are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Battle of the Hemp Bales” is one of the most distinctive and visually memorable Civil War stories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lafayette County Assessor – (660) 259-6158.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Friends of the Friendless Animal Rescue – an all-volunteer rescue based in Lexington, MO, helping dogs and cats find homes; confirm current contact via fofanimalrescue.org.
Lexington City Animal Control – confirm current address/phone via the City of Lexington, (660) 259-4633. NAMING TRAP: “Lexington-Fayette Animal Care & Control” and “Lexington County Animal Services” both refer to unrelated jurisdictions (Lexington, Kentucky and Lexington County, South Carolina, respectively) – do not conflate with Lexington, Missouri.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lafayette County – confirm current contact via lafayettecountymo.gov.
NOTES: Lafayette County is the sixth county in the eighth batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “Battle of the Hemp Bales” is one of the most distinctive and visually memorable Civil War stories covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Lafayette County
Lafayette County is west-central Missouri’s Civil War and hemp heritage county – a Missouri River community whose 1861 battle and distinctive cannonball courthouse landmark draw history enthusiasts.
Lexington (the county seat, population ~4,500) has one of Missouri’s most distinctive Civil War landmarks – a cannonball fired during the September 1861 Battle of Lexington is lodged in a column of the Lafayette County Courthouse, where it has remained since the battle as a permanent reminder of the conflict.
The Battle of Lexington – where Confederate General Sterling Price’s forces advanced behind rolling bales of water-soaked hemp – was a Confederate victory that temporarily gave Missouri’s pro-Confederate forces control of the Missouri River valley.
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Lafayette County Assessor at 1001 Main Street, Suite 103, Lexington, MO 64067, phone 660-259-4315. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value. Appeal to Board of Equalization.
Courts & Legal
Lafayette County Circuit Court at 1001 Main Street, Lexington, MO 64067, phone 660-259-4544, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1001 Main St., Lexington, MO 64067
(660) 259-3151
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lafayette County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Lexington is the site of the Battle of Lexington, a significant early Civil War engagement, now preserved as a state historic site.
Local societies
No dedicated Lafayette County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Lafayette County Circuit Court, Probate Division 1001 Main Street (mail: P.O. Box 10), Lexington, MO 64067 (660) 259-6101 Lafayette County is in western Missouri, seated in Lexington.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1001 Main St., Lexington, MO 64067
(660) 259-2661
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1001 Main St., Lexington, MO 64067
(660) 259-3151
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MO Dept of Social Services — Lafayette
(660) 259-2255
Lafayette Regional Health Center
lafayetteregionalhealthcenter.com (Lexington — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lafayette County Health Department – confirm current phone via lafayettecountymo.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lexington
Population: 34,000
Area: 633 sq mi
Established: 1820
Tier: 3
Public Records
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