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History · Monroe City

Monroe City’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Monroe City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1880.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Sarah Ewart · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Monroe City began

When was Monroe City founded?

1883

The Monroe City post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lovely Dale (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 401 in 18802020 census: 502143 years
Founding year: the first Monroe City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Monroe City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Monroe City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 688 in 1900; 502 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monroe City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monroe City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Monroe City, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 688

Peaked at 688 in 1900; 502 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Monroe City’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Monroe City, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Monroe City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Monroe City is a town in Harrison Township, Knox County, Indiana, United States. The population was 502 at the 2020 census. Monroe City was named for one of its founders, Monroe Alton.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 545 to 502 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Monroe City, 1854 to 1944

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Lovely Dale post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Lovely Dale post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Monroe City post office opens
  5. 1887Born hereCurtis Shake is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 688
  8. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Monroe City, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Monroe City, Indiana2011Monroe City, IndianaMonroe City High School2011Monroe City High School
On the map

Monroe City on the map, 1944 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monroe City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Monroe City on the 1944 USGS mapMonroe City on the 1958 USGS mapMonroe City on the 1980 USGS map1944Monroe City sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monroe City.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Monroe City’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Lovely Dale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lovely Dale
1854–1883
Monroe City
1883–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five Points

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Monroe City’s history

What year was Monroe City founded?

The Monroe City post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.