Monroe County, Kentucky Monroe County, Kentucky Monroe County is a county located in the Pennyroyal Plateau region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,963. Its county seat is Tompkinsville. The county is named for President James Monroe. It is a prohibition or dry county. Monroe County is the only county of the 2,957 in the United States named for a President where the county seat is named for his Vice-President. The county was formed in 1820; and named for James Monroe the fifth President, author of the Monroe Doctrine. The county seat was named for
James Monroe Gregory James Monroe Gregory James Monroe Gregory (January 23, 1849 – December 17, 1915) was a Professor of Latin and Dean at Howard University. During the American Civil War, he worked in Cleveland for the education and aid of escaped slaves. He initially attended Oberlin University. He transferred to Howard and was the valedictorian of Howard's first graduating class in 1872. He then became a member of faculty, where he served until the late 1880s. During that time he was active in civil rights, particularly related to the education of African American children. He fought to desegregate Washington D.C. schools in