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History · Old Monroe

Old Monroe dates to 1819, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1910.

1819founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Old Monroe began

When was Old Monroe founded?

1819

Old Monroe dates its founding to 1819 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 251 in 19102020 census: 249207 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓

What stands out about Old Monroe’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 Old Monroe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1985. Watch Old Monroe change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1819: 207 years of Old Monroe.Old housesHalf of Old Monroe’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Old Monroe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Old Monroe’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
On the map

Old Monroe on the map, 1903 to 1985

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

Old Monroe on the 1903 USGS mapOld Monroe on the 1968 USGS mapOld Monroe on the 1985 USGS map1903OFallon sheet · 1:125,000

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

Timeline

Old Monroe, 1819 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingOld Monroe is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Monroe post office opens
  4. 1823Post officeThe Monroe post office closes
  5. 1863Post officeThe Old Monroe post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1916Born hereClem Dreisewerd is born here
The story

How Old Monroe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Old Monroe.

Read it all →

Old Monroe was the site of Fort Howard. It was laid out in 1819, and named after President James Monroe. The name was prefixed with "Old" in order to avoid postal conflict with Monroe City.

The Battle of the Sink Hole was fought on May 24, 1815, after the official end of the War of 1812, between Missouri Rangers and Sauk Indians led by Black Hawk. The Sauk were unaware, or did not care, that their British patrons had signed the Treaty of Ghent with the U.S. The battle was fought in a low spot near the mouth of the Cuivre River near the current day city of Old Monroe.

After the battle, in 1816, Black Hawk reaffirmed the Treaty of St. Louis after re-negotiation with the United States government.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Old Monroe, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 330

Between 242 and 330 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Old Monroe’s post office has been open since 1863. Another post office, Monroe, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Monroe
1819–1823
Old Monroe
1863–today
18101920today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WinfieldIts storyC−

Questions about Old Monroe’s history

What year was Old Monroe founded?

In 1819, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Old Monroe’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1910 counted 251 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 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) 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.