[8] The ship's arrival was the single event, in the minds of local residents, that transformed the outpost into a town.

As the 19th century began, the entire Ouachita Valley region ... was part of Spanish colonial holdings.

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.Fort Miro changed its name to Monroe to commemorate the first arrival of the steamboat James Monroe in the spring of 1820 (see "Etymology" above).

He pioneered crop dusting to eradicate the boll weevil, which destroyed cotton throughout the Mississippi Delta in the early 20th century.

They were also escaping the oppressive racial conditions and violence under Jim Crow and the disenfranchisement that excluded most blacks from the political system.

Howard D. Griffin (1911–1986) purchased a boat dealership in 1936 while a student at what became the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months.

The winter months are normally mild, with an average of 35 days of freezing or below-freezing temperatures per year, with ice and sleet storms possible.

Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding 90 degrees an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity, sometimes exceeding the 90 percent level.In March 2016, rainfall amounts ranging between 15 and 20 inches fell area-wide over 3 days, more than any 3-day period ever previously recorded.

[22] As part of the Bible Belt, Christianity is the largest religion in Monroe, the city's metropolitan area, and North Louisiana.

[23] In common with much of northern and Central Louisiana, Baptists makes up the largest Christian denomination by affiliation.

Former mayor Jamie Mayo controversially awarded a key to the city to the head of the Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan.

[32] In the Louisiana State Legislature, Monroe is in the 33rd and 34th Senate districts, represented by Republican Stewart Cathey Jr. and Democrat Katrina Jackson, and the 14th, 16th, and 17th House districts, represented by Republican Michael Charles Echols, and Democrats Adrian Fisher and Patricia "Pat" Moore.

The arena houses events such as banquets, circuses, and rodeos.The center also holds the B. D. Robinson Conference Hall,[36] Monroe Convention Center,[37] equestrian pavilion, and the 2,200-seat W. L. Jack Howard Theatre[38] named for W. L. "Jack" Howard, the Union Parish native who served as mayor of Monroe from 1956 to 1972 and again from 1976 to 1978.

[40] Monroe is the home of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, which collectively maintains over 500 animals.

[48][49] This is one of the 26 sites identified in the early 21st century as part of the state's African American Heritage Trail.

The Gannett owned News Star is the primary daily newspaper serving Monroe and area.

Both KNOE-TV and KTVE offer a full range of network and local daily news programming.

[58] Ouachita Parish High School has a Monroe postal address, though it is in an unincorporated area.

It has three main runways and is served by regional partners of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Created in 1906 as a four-line street railroad, the Monroe Transit System now provides 13 fixed bus routes covering most areas of the city, and three demand-response buses serving the disabled.