Monroe

/meuhn roh"/, n.

1. Harriet, 1861?-1936, U.S. editor and poet.

2. James, 1758-1831, 5th president of the U.S. 1817-25.

3. Marilyn (Norma Jean Baker or Mortenson), 1926-62, U.S. film actress.

4. a city in N Louisiana. 57,597.

5. a city in SE Michigan, on Lake Erie. 23,531.

6. a town in SW Connecticut. 14,010.

7. a city in S North Carolina. 12,639.

8. a town in S Wisconsin. 10,027.

9. Fort. See Fort Monroe.

10. a male given name.

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(as used in expressions)

Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Bill

William Smith Monroe

Monroe Harriet

Monroe James

Monroe Marilyn

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▪ Louisiana, United States

      city, seat (1807) of Ouachita parish, northeastern Louisiana, U.S., on the Ouachita River, opposite West Monroe. It was founded in 1785, when a group of French pioneers from southern Louisiana under Don Juan (later John) Filhiol, a Frenchman in the Spanish service, established Fort Miro (1791) as a trading post on a land grant obtained from King Charles X of Spain. Originally called Prairie de Canots, or “Prairie of the Canoes,” it was renamed in 1819 to honour the arrival of the James Monroe, the first steamboat to ascend the river. In August and September 1863, the city was the site of two minor conflicts during the American Civil War.

      Monroe and West Monroe are the focus of manufacturing and commerce for the surrounding rural parishes, where cattle raising predominates. Paper products are the mainstay of the city's lumber industry, and the large Monroe gas field nearby (discovered 1916) supports chemical and carbon-black industries. The city is the seat of the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana at Monroe, University of) (1931). Several recreational areas are in the vicinity, notably D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge to the northwest and Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area to the east. Inc. 1820. Pop. (1990) city, 54,909; Monroe MSA, 142,191; (2000) city, 53,107; Monroe MSA, 147,250.

▪ Michigan, United States

      city, seat (1817) of Monroe county, southeastern Michigan, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the River Raisin, on Lake Erie (Erie, Lake), between Detroit (about 40 miles [60 km] northeast) and Toledo, Ohio (about 12 miles [20 km] southwest). French Canadians founded a community on the north bank of the Raisin in the 1780s that came to be called Frenchtown; during the War of 1812 (1812, War of), it was the scene of the River Raisin Massacre (Jan. 22, 1813) of Gen. James Winchester's U.S. troops by Indians allied with England. The village never recovered, and in 1817 American settlers laid out a community named for Pres. James Monroe (Monroe, James) on the river's south bank; in 1835 it figured prominently in the Toledo War (a bloodless boundary dispute between Ohio and Michigan).

      Economic activities include shipping and diversified manufactures, notably paper products and automobile parts. Monroe was once the home of U.S. military officer George Armstrong Custer (Custer, George Armstrong), and his mementos are in the Monroe County Historical Museum. The Navarre-Anderson Trading Post (1789), Michigan's oldest surviving wooden structure, is one of a number of pre-Civil War structures in the city; the River Raisin Battlefield Visitor Center displays artifacts from the massacre and early settlements in the area. Sterling State Park is on Lake Erie just north of Monroe. Monroe County Community College opened in 1964. Inc. village, 1827; city, 1837. Pop. (2000) city, 22,076; Monroe MSA, 145,945; (2005 est.) city, 21,791; Monroe MSA, 153,935.

▪ county, New York, United States

      county, northwestern New York state, U.S., comprising a lowland region bordered by Lake Ontario (Ontario, Lake) to the north. The principal waterways are the Genesee River, which bisects the county north-south; Irondequoit Creek, which empties into Irondequoit Bay; and the New York State Canal System (completed 1918), which incorporates the Erie Canal (1825). Oak and hickory trees predominate in woodland areas. Parklands are located at Hamlin Beach, Braddock Bay, Mendon Ponds, and Durand and Eastman lakes.

       Seneca Indians, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, were early residents of the region. Rochester, the county seat, was known for its flour-milling, textile, and nursery industries in the 19th century. It was home to industrialists John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb, founders of the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company (now Bausch & Lomb Incorporated) in the mid-1850s. George Eastman (Eastman, George), an innovator of photographic equipment, founded the Eastman Kodak Company (1880) and donated generously to the University of Rochester (Rochester, University of) (founded 1850), which includes the Eastman School of Music. The city is also known for the Rochester Institute of Technology (1829); the North Star (1847–60), an antislavery newspaper published by abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Douglass, Frederick); and the Vacuum Oil Company (1866), a forerunner of the Mobil Oil Corporation (Mobil Corporation). The State University of New York College at Brockport was founded in 1835.

      Monroe county was formed in 1821 and named for James Monroe (Monroe, James). The Rochester metropolitan area includes the towns of Greece, Irondequoit, Brighton, Henrietta, Penfield, and Pittsford. The economy relies on manufacturing (photographic and optical equipment), services (health and educational), and retail trade. Area 659 square miles (1,708 square km). Pop. (1990) 713,968; (2000) 735,343.

▪ county, Pennsylvania, United States

      county, eastern Pennsylvania, U.S., bordered by New Jersey to the east (the Delaware River constituting the boundary), Blue and Kittatinny mountains to the south, Tobyhanna and Tunkhannock creeks to the west, and the Lehigh River to the northwest. Its varied topography includes the Pocono Mountains in the north and ridge-and-valley terrain in the south. Other waterways include McMichael, Brodhead, and Cherry creeks; Lake Naomi and Pocono Lake are in the Pocono Mountains. Parklands include Big Pocono, Gouldsboro, and Tobyhanna state parks and sites along the Delaware River such as the Delaware Water Gap, where the river traverses the Kittatinny Mountains. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail follows the ridgeline of Blue and Kittatinny mountains.

      The county was formed in 1836 and named for James Monroe (Monroe, James). Tourism is important to resort communities such as East Stroudsburg, Mount Pocono, and Stroudsburg, which is the county seat. Area 607 square miles (1,573 square km). Pop. (2000) 138,687; (2007 est.) 164,722.

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