In 1835, now under American rule, Mayor Darby gained permission from the state legislature to begin selling the commons to drive the criminals out.

The square park was bordered by a street on each side, with the southern street called Lafayette in honor of Revolutionary War General Marie-Joseph-Paul-Roch-Yves-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, who had visited Saint Louis a few years previous during his famous 1824-25 tour of the United States.

In the early 1850s, after courts had adjudicated the ownership of these properties, several prominent Saint Louisans bought most of the land bordering the southern end of the Park.

The next year the park received one of the six casts of Houdon’s life-size marble sculpture of George Washington, who had fought alongside Lafayette.

The newspaper the DAILY DEMOCRAT, June 27, 1870 wrote: "In looking about the city and noting its improvements, we have been struck with the great progress attained in the vicinity of Lafayette Park.

Although some residents gave up on the neighborhood and moved away, others began to rebuild and by 1904 the Square had improved enough “to earn special commendation from foreign landscape architects who were visiting the World’s Fair.” In 1923, the Missouri Supreme Court declared the 1918 residential zoning ordinance unconstitutional (see City of St. Louis v. Evraiff, 256 S.W.

What the tornado of 1896 had begun, and the encroachment of gas stations and grocery stores continued, the Great Depression accelerated.

The park was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), a French statesman who served as a volunteer under General George Washington in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

It also has cannons that were part of a British warship that bombarded Ft. Moultire in Charleston Harbor in June, 1776 during the Revolutionary War.

It has a few walking and biking trails, a duck pond with fountain, children's playground, various decorative plantings, and a gazebo that can be rented for picnics and events.