Monroe MI is a city in the US state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,589. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County .
The current boundaries were mostly established after 1945 when the two cities of Monroe and LaSalle merged creating one large contiguous municipality. The area defined by these boundaries is approximately 741 acres (297 ha). The current mayor of Monroe MI is Robert E. Clark II , who replaced Clyde Roberson on January 1, 2002.
Monroe MI has a small commercial airport located at 2355 Observatory Rd called Monroe County Airport (henceforth referred to as “MCB”). This airport is for private planes only, with no commercial air service available currently. MCB is located only about 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown Monroe.
Monroe MI is at approximately 42°18’N 83°2’W (42.30, −83.02). The ZIP code for Monroe MI is 48162 and the FIPS place code is 62060.
Monroe was the county seat of Monroe County, Michigan in 1817 when it became a town. A settlement had been established in 1784 when Francois Berthelot bought land near the mouth of the Ecorse River on Lake Erie . Berthelot brought his family to settle here in the territory then known as Huron , with a grant from Governor Hamtramck of Detroit . He formed an agricultural community there with other settlers who had been attracted to the place by Berthelot’s leadership.
In the 1819 Treaty of Detroit , Native American tribes in Michigan ceded a large tract around Monroe, which was eventually opened up to settlement. To the south lay vast stretches of uninhabited lands from which the earlier pioneers had been driven out by Indian raids. The government offered land at $1.25 per acre and easy terms to any man over eighteen or any woman heading a household, provided they would occupy and improve it for at least three years. Many took advantage of this offer and began settling along what became known as the French Road.