Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Independent City or Town
- Metro Area
- Politics c. 1860?
- Don’t Know
- Unions, Organized Labor?
- Don’t Know
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Possible
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 3110 | 0 | ||||||
| 1870 | 4536 | 18 | ||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | 3768 | 6 | ||||||
| 1900 | 3927 | 2 | ||||||
| 1910 | 4410 | 0 | ||||||
| 1920 | 4788 | 0 | ||||||
| 1930 | 5015 | 1 | ||||||
| 1940 | 6182 | 0 | ||||||
| 1950 | 7037 | 0 | ||||||
| 1960 | 8050 | 1 | ||||||
| 1970 | 8654 | 3 | ||||||
| 1980 | 10027 | 1 | ||||||
| 1990 | 10241 | 9 | ||||||
| 2000 | 10843 | 38 | ||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Unknown
Main Ethnic Group(s)
- Unknown
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
Email from a town resident: “I’ve lived here permanently since 2002. My parents moved here in the early 70s. The population is predominantly Swiss German and I think it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve noticed any blacks living here. What’s been especially interesting is the recent number of black children being adopted by white families. I worked off and on for a manufacturing company in town and became acquainted with a black man who told me he had tried living with his white girlfriend in town. They weren’t kicked out, but he said it was very obvious he was not welcome. We have two Chinese restaurants in town, but I don’t know where the owners live. We recently had a Vietnamese nail salon open and they live in town and their son attends high school here. They seemed to be genuinely happy. My dental hygienist is African American. Her mother is white and came from a rural farm family. I’m not sure if there were issues, but she recounted a number of fond memories of times spent on the farm with her grandmother. She said her parents met in college. I would guess that Monroe was a sundown town and might still be to a certain extent.”
Email from a nearby resident: “My family is from Freeport, Illinois, about 25 miles south of Monroe, and my late father always told me that in the 1950s Monroe had a sign at the city limits that said something to the effect that blacks were not allowed in town after dark. Growing up I had a hard time believing this was literally true, but now I wonder…”