Monroe dates to 1785, and 23 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #12 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Monroe was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 23 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 533 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monroe’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monroe is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #12 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monroe’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Monroe’s 119 sits above most of its state (92% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 558 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1785.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Monroe’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fort MiromilitaryGeorgia Tucker Elementary SchoolschoolLida Benton Elementary SchoolschoolLock and Dam Number FourdamSaint Francis SanitariumhospitalUpper Pargoud Plantationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monroe
Old Monroe CityRiverviewSaint Matthew
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
As the 19th century began, the entire Ouachita Valley region ... was part of Spanish colonial holdings. Ouachita Parish encompassed the area between the Red and the Mississippi Rivers, from north of Concordia and Rapides Parish to the Missouri. The area was sparsely populated, primarily by itinerant hunters and trappers until late in the 18th century. Under Spanish colonial rule, Jean Baptiste Filhiol was sent from South Louisiana to oversee the settlement of the Poste du Ouachita in 1781. In 1785 Filhiol designated Prairie des Canots, now Monroe ... as the governmental center of the Poste du Ouachita. In response to a petition by the settlers, a fortification was built in 1791 and named Fort Miro in honor of the Spanish governor, Estavan Miro.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monroe. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Drew sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monroe.
Every building
Monroe, building by building, 1886–1926
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1785, according to Wikidata. Monroe’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1850 counted 435 people here.
How does Monroe rank for history?
Monroe is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #12 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Monroe?
23 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Garrett, Isaiah, Law Office (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Monroe Residential Historic District and the Downtown Monroe Historic District, with 533 contributing buildings. 558 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Monroe?
8% of Monroe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (23), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1907
1918
1918
1918
1918
