Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 152,021. The largest city and county seat is Monroe. The county was established as the second county (after Wayne County) in the Michigan Territory in 1817 and was named for then-President James Monroe. Monroe County comprises the Monroe, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Combined Statistical Area. It is also considered a northerly extension of the Toledo Metropolitan Area. Before the county's formation, the primary settlement was Frenchtown, which was settled
James Monroe of Virginia and rose to national prominence as a diplomat in France when he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. During the War of 1812, Monroe served in critical roles as Secretary of State and the Secretary of War under President James Madison. Facing little opposition from the waning Federalist Party, Monroe was easily elected president in 1816, winning over eighty percent against Rufus King (who hadn't even been chosen by a convention since the Federalists were too weak to organize) of the electoral vote and becoming the last president during the First Party System era of American politics.