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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Monroe

Wisconsin

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

The available census data from 1860 to the present
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…”