Monroe dates to 1817, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #14 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 727 buildings between them. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.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 97% of U.S. towns, #14 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monroe’s overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Monroe’s 362 sits above most of its state (98% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 736 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1817.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Monroe, building by building, 1888–1922
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.
Long occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the area around the River Raisin was settled by the Potawatomi hundreds of years before French explorers and colonists reached it in the late 17th century. Robert de LaSalle claimed the area for New France after his 1679 expedition on the Griffon.
In 1784, after the American Revolutionary War, the Potawatomi gave Francis Navarre of Canada some land south of the River Raisin. Shortly thereafter, Colonists settled Frenchtown, the third European community in what became the state of Michigan. Around the same time, French-Canadian Joseph Porlier Benec established the Sandy Creek Settlement just north of Frenchtown.
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.
In 1817, according to Wikidata. Monroe’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1840 counted 1,703 people here.
How does Monroe rank for history?
Monroe is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #14 of 701 in Michigan. 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?
11 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Gov. Robert McClelland House (listed 1971, the first), 5 historic districts with 727 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 736 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Monroe?
33% of Monroe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
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