Old Village Historic District (Monroe, Michigan)
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Old Village Historic District
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Looking north along M-125 toward River Raisin
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Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location | Monroe, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 41°54′45″N 83°24′00″W / 41.91250°N 83.40000°WCoordinates: 41°54′45″N 83°24′00″W / 41.91250°N 83.40000°W |
| NRHP Reference # | 82002854 |
| Added to NRHP | May 6, 1982 |
The Old Village Historic District is a commercial and residential historic district consisting of the downtown area of the city of Monroe in Monroe County, Michigan. The district was listed as a Michigan Historic Site and added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1982.
The area is commonly referred to as the downtown area and is the oldest settled area in Monroe, dating back to 1817 when the area was first platted. Some of the oldest surviving buildings in this district date back to 1830, and the district incorporates several different architectural styles. The stretch of the district that runs along M-125 is also designated as one of the Pure Michigan Byways.
The area dates back to 1817 when the first roads were drawn out on a piece of land given by local landowner Joseph Loranger for the establishment of the village for the newly organized Monroe County. The grid plan, drawn up by Henry Disbrow, was modeled after the system used in New York City, with streets named after numbers. Although small at first, the city grew rapidly along the River Raisin beginning around 1830. While much of the growing population began spreading throughout Monroe County, the majority lived within the Old Village where the center of government and industry resided. The current county courthouse was built in 1880, although the plot of land it is located on has housed the seat of the county government since 1817. Monroe opened its first post office in 1913. The main industry at the time was Monroe's numerous paper mills along the River Raisin. The Dundee Historic District in Dundee was settled further up the river around the same time, and the two heavily relied on the river and built several dams along its course.
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