Lafontaine, one of the thriving little towns of Wilson county, is located in Talleyrand township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 8 miles south of Fredonia, the county seat. It has all the main lines of business enterprise, including a bank, a newspaper, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 250. The town had its beginning in 1879, when a postoffice was established. A store was opened, and as it was in the midst of an excellent farming community, others followed. In 1886 the railroad was built, which made the future of the little town secure. In May, 1896, Talleyrand township was swept with a cyclone which destroyed numerous farm buildings, wrecked several buildings and injured a number of people in Lafontaine. The telephone system was installed in 1902.