[5] Before the county's formation, the primary settlement was Frenchtown, which was settled in as early as 1784 along the banks of the River Raisin.

The small plot of land was given to the early French settlers by the Potawatomi Native Americans, and the area was claimed for New France.

[1] At the time, the Michigan Territory, which had not yet received statehood, consisted of only Wayne County since Detroit was the only area which had a non-indigenous population over 1,000 people.

After their deaths in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Henry and Boston were interred and memorialized in Monroe's historic Woodland Cemetery, as are many members of Bacon's family.

In 1910, then-President William Howard Taft and the widowed Elizabeth Bacon unveiled an equestrian statue of Custer which now sits at the corner of Elm Street and Monroe Street in the heart of downtown Monroe.

[citation needed] The small strip of land surrounding the mouth of the Maumee River was under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Territory, because the borders originally drawn up for the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set a territorial boundary as the southernmost edge of Lake Michigan.

In late 1836, President Andrew Jackson, who earlier had appointed his brilliant young aide Stevens T. Mason as the Michigan Territory's "boy governor", intervened to settle the dispute.

The federal government gave the Toledo Strip to Ohio in exchange for Michigan getting the Upper Peninsula, then considered a wasteland, when it became a state on January 26, 1837.

This gave the river and the city of Toledo to the state of Ohio, but it also created an unintended consequence for a specific area of Michigan.

[13] Monroe County's boundary remained unchanged from 1837 to 1973, when a final unresolved dispute from the Toledo War was resolved, 136 years after the conflict.

[14][15] Prior to the mid-20th century, Monroe County remained largely agrarian and was well known for its numerous paper mills—the first of which was founded in 1834.

[16] In 1916, August Meyer founded Brisk Blast, which was a bicycle pump manufacturer that was later expanded to produce automotive shocks in 1919 as the Monroe Auto Equipment Company.

[16] In 1927, cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker founded a small furniture making company in their garage.

This would later evolve into the worldwide La-Z-Boy Incorporated, and their world headquarters are located on North Telegraph Road in Monroe.

[17] In 1957, the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station first opened in Frenchtown Charter Township near Lake Erie.

Today, the plant is operated by Detroit Edison but is entirely owned by parent company DTE Energy.

At 805 feet (245 m) tall, the dual smokestacks are visible from over 25 miles (40 km) away and are among the tallest structures in the state.

The plant, one of the most prominent manufacturing job in the county, produces various car parts for Ford.

The plant itself is also well known for its high level of chemicals that once polluted Lake Erie and the River Raisin.

As one of the largest stores of its kind, this location is a major tourist destination and has greatly improved the economy of Dundee.

The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge extends south into Monroe County and includes part of the North Maumee Bay Archeological District.

[23] Monroe County sits at the lowest elevation in Michigan, which is the shores of Lake Erie at 571 feet (174 meters).

Many tornadoes have been a part of major outbreaks, and none have directly affected the heavily populated areas.

[26] The most recent tornado to touchdown and cause significant damage in the county struck Dundee Township in a minor outbreak that caused several tornadoes around the southern portion of Michigan on the morning of June 6, 2010.

However, some of the strongest hurricanes have affected the county with a few irregular inches of increased rainfall, although they have had no more power in the area than a depression does.

Tropical Storm Candy (1968) traveled unusually far inland and dropped 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) of rain.

[41] Portions of Monroe County are served by the Lake Erie Transit public transportation bus system.

Established in 1975, Lake Erie Transit currently has a fleet of 31 buses and serves approximately 400,000 riders every year.

It also serves several neighboring townships outside of its normal routes should a passenger call ahead for a ride.