Monroe

The town of Park Place was originally founded in 1864 at the river confluence and was among several existing settlements in the Tualco Valley. The confluence site was previously a trading post used by the indigenous Skykomish people. Park Place was renamed to Monroe in 1890 to honor U.S. President James Monroe, and was moved northeast to be near the tracks of the Great Northern Railway, which was constructed in 1892. Monroe was incorporated in 1902 and was selected as the home of a major condensed milk plant and the state reformatory.

The city became a suburban bedroom community in the late 20th century, serving commuters to Everett, Seattle, and the Eastside. It is home to the Monroe Correctional Complex, which absorbed the original reformatory in 1998, and the Evergreen State Fair, which runs annually in late summer. Monroe is located at the junction of two major highways, U.S. Route 2 and State Route 522, which were expanded in the late 20th century to serve commuters.