Editing Monroe, Michigan (section)

==History==
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| footer            = Front Street looking east toward the [[Old Village Historic District (Monroe, Michigan)|Old Village]] around the year 1900 ''(top)'' and in 2010 ''(bottom)''
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| alt1              = Front Street 2010
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| alt2              = Front Street 1900
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Long occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the area around the [[River Raisin]] was settled by the historic [[Potawatomi]] hundreds of years before French explorers and colonists reached it in the late seventeenth century. [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|Robert de LaSalle]] claimed the area for [[New France]] after his 1679 expedition on the ''[[Le Griffon|Griffon]]''.

In 1784, after the [[American Revolutionary War]], Francis Navarre of Canada was given a portion of land south of the River Raisin by the Potawatomi. Colonists settled [[Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan|Frenchtown]] shortly thereafter as the third European community in what in the early 19th century became the state of Michigan. Around the same time, the [[Sandy Creek (Michigan)|Sandy Creek Settlement]] was established just north of Frenchtown by French-Canadian Joseph Porlier Benec.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.monroeinfo.com/set1_source.html |title = Monroe, Michigan historical markers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511195508/http://www.monroeinfo.com/set1_source.html |archive-date=May 11, 2008 }}</ref>

Because of its proximity to Detroit, the area was of strategic importance during the [[War of 1812]] between the United States and Great Britain, especially after [[Fort Detroit]] surrendered to the British in August 1812. American forces en route to retake Detroit camped in the area of the River Raisin in the winter of 1812–13. A force of 200 Native Americans and 63 Canadian militia were forced to retreat north away from the River Raisin by 600 Kentucky militiamen and 100 French, under the command of [[James Winchester (general)|James Winchester]], on January 18, 1813. This skirmish was later dubbed the "First Battle of the River Raisin".

On January 22, 1813, a force of 800 Native Americans and 597 British, under [[Henry Procter (British Army officer)|Henry Proctor]], surprised the force of 1,000 Americans and captured Frenchtown. Many of the American militia were inexperienced, ill-trained, and badly equipped. They suffered 397 killed and 547 captured. The British and their allies had only slight losses.

When the British departed with their captives to Detroit, they left those Americans too wounded to walk in the homes of Frenchtown inhabitants under the guard of a small British detachment and Native American allies, including Potawatomi. The morning after the battle, other Native Americans returned to Frenchtown. They plundered and burned homes, and killed and ritually scalped many of the remaining American captives, taking others as slaves. The official U.S. estimate of casualties in this aftermath include a dozen named individuals killed and up to 30 more who were likely killed. The British estimated six Americans were killed.

This event became known throughout the United States as the "River Raisin Massacre". It was also known as the [[Battle of Frenchtown]] (or the Second Battle of the River Raisin).<ref>{{cite web|author=National Park Service|url=http://www.nps.gov/rira/historyculture/index.htm|title=History & Culture|department=River Raisin National Battlefield Park |publisher= National Park Service}}</ref> Today, the site of the battle is preserved as the [[River Raisin National Battlefield Park]], authorized in 2009.<ref name = "MonroeNews">{{cite news | author = Monroe Evening News staff | title = Battlefield Bill Signing Celebrated | url = http://www.monroenews.com/article/20090331/NEWS01/703319972/-1/NEWS | work = [[Monroe Evening News]] |date = March 31, 2009 | access-date = April 3, 2009 }}</ref> It is the first and so far the only national battlefield established for a solely War of 1812 site. It has a small visitor center.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riverraisinbattlefield.org/visitorscenter.htm |title=River Raisin Battlefield: Visitors Center |author=Friends of the River Raisin Battlefield |publisher=Friends of the River Raisin Battlefield|access-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024124526/http://www.riverraisinbattlefield.org/visitorscenter.htm|archive-date=October 24, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Custerstatue.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument|George Armstrong Custer's statue]], unveiled in 1910, is located at the corner of Elm Avenue and [[M-125 (Michigan highway)|Monroe Street]].]]

The Frenchtown community was renamed after the War of 1812 and incorporated as the village of Monroe in honor of President [[James Monroe]], who visited the [[Michigan Territory]] in 1817. In the same year, the city of Monroe was named as the [[county seat]] of the newly created [[Monroe County, Michigan|Monroe County]]. Monroe was re-incorporated as a city in 1837.<ref name="Romig"/>

Settled mostly by American migrants from New York and New England, Monroe later became associated with events in the West in the later 19th century, particularly the [[Indian Wars]]. It was the childhood home of [[George Armstrong Custer]] (1839–1876), who had a military career in which he reached the rank of [[Major general (United States)|major general]]. His family moved here when he was young, and he lived in Monroe for much of his childhood. Here he later met and in 1864 married [[Elizabeth Bacon Custer|Elizabeth Bacon]] (1842–1933), during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. In the later 19th century, he led troops in the Indian Wars and died at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]], in which his forces were killed by the [[Lakota people|Lakota]], who call it the Battle of the Greasy Grass.

In 1910, President [[William Howard Taft]] and the widow Elizabeth Bacon Custer unveiled an [[George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument|equestrian statue]] of Custer, which now stands at the corner of Elm Avenue and [[M-125 (Michigan highway)|Monroe Street]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 10, 2022 |title=Battle continues over Monroe statue of George Armstrong Custer |url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/two-americas/battle-continues-over-monroe-statue-of-george-armstrong-custer |access-date=October 12, 2022 |work=WXYZ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Custer |first = Elizabeth B. |date = May 15, 1910 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1910/05/15/archives/president-will-help-dedicate-the-custer-monument-nation-will-join.html |title = President Will Help Dedicate the Custer Monument: Nation Will Join with Michigan in Honors to the Great Indian Fighter Next Month |work = [[The New York Times]] |access-date = January 18, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://monroe.lib.mi.us/books_movies_music/special_collections/custer_statue_moved.htm |title = Custer's Statue |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090926023239/http://monroe.lib.mi.us/books_movies_music/special_collections/custer_statue_moved.htm |archive-date = September 26, 2009 |website = George Armstrong Custer Collection |publisher = Monroe County Library System }}</ref> Custer is also honored in street names, various [[historic marker]]s, buildings, schools, and the regional [[Custer Airport]].<ref name=cstr>{{cite web |url = https://www.michigan.gov/documents/Ttf_19117_7.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051214212723/https://www.michigan.gov/documents/Ttf_19117_7.pdf |archive-date = December 14, 2005 |title = Monroe Custer (TTF) |publisher = State of Michigan }}</ref> City limit signs for Monroe describe the city as "the home of General Custer."

The [[La-Z-Boy]] furniture company, which became known for its reclining easy chairs, was founded in Monroe in 1927.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/our_history.aspx|title=About La-Z-Boy|publisher= [[La-Z-Boy]] |access-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref> Their world headquarters are located in Monroe, south of the intersection of La-Z-Boy Boulevard and Stewart Road. This new facility is roughly a half mile east of the original location on [[U.S. Route 24 in Michigan|Telegraph Road]]; the old building was demolished in 2021, and the site is being redeveloped.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/c53d1af976a843189f589e74f5d3b866.html |work=Construction Journal |access-date=July 19, 2022|title=Former La-Z-Boy World Headquarters Building Demolition }}</ref>

In 1974, the [[Monroe Power Plant]] opened. It is the [[List of coal-fired power stations in the United States|third largest coal-fired plant]] in the United States, with a capacity of 3,280 megawatts.<ref>{{cite web |last = Chepkemoi |first = Joyce |date = August 1, 2017 |url = https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-largest-coal-power-stations-in-the-united-states.html |title = The Largest Coal Power Stations in the United States |website = WorldAtlas.com |access-date = January 18, 2018 }}</ref> At {{convert|805|ft|m}} tall, the dual [[Chimney|smokestacks]] are visible from more than {{convert|25|mi|km}} away and are among the tallest structures in the state.

In December 1989, a combination of [[zebra mussel]]s and ice clogged the sole intake pipe of the Monroe water treatment plant, forcing a two-day shutdown of the city's schools, industries, and businesses.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}