Monroe holds a special status as being one of our state's oldest settlements, the first county in which many pioneers first set foot on Michigan soil (including the ancestors of this writer). Though Detroit, the Straits and Soo and older, no Michigan city is more deeply immersed in "American" history than Monroe.

Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by Ottawas and Potawatomis. To them, the River Raisin that snakes through the county and beyond was Nummasepee, or the "River of Sturgeon." Other local tribes included the Wyandots, who lived further up the Detroit River in the northern end of Monroe county.

The first white settler in Monroe was a 20-year-old Frenchman, Francois Navarre. The lndians gave him a deed for a 500-acre farm along Nummasepee's south bank on June 3, 1785. An historical marker at the Sawyer Homestead, 320 E. Front St., pays tribute to the place where Navarre's log house sat on the River Raisin.

Before coming to Monroe, Navarre lived in Canada and Detroit. After moving here, he returned to Detroit and told other French-Canadians about the wealth of game and fish. The French began to head south. They wanted to escape the British military, which had refused to relinquish Detroit after the Revolutionary War. Soon after, this area became known as Frenchtown, for the number of families who had settled here. And Nummasepee was rechristened the Riviere aux Raisins, for the grapes that hugged its banks.

In 1788, the settlers built their first church, the second oldest in Michigan: St. Antoine, Riviere aux Raisins. St, Antoine's founders met in a log chapel on the north side of the river, just west of where Frenchman's Bend subdivision stands today. First Presbyterian Church in Monroe's Loranger Square is the oldest Presbyterian church in the state. The congregation was organized in 1820 and the building went up in 1846. Magnificent old churches are located throughout the county.

As for the early settlement of Frenchtown, it began to grow during the early 1800s. One of the first Americans to arrive was Col. John Anderson. who came about the turn of the century. In 1802, Anderson bought a building that Hutreau Navarre had built along the River Raisin in 1789. The building, now part of the historical museum's Navarre- Anderson Trading Post Complex on N. Custer Rd. in Raisinville Township, is significant: It is the oldest surviving wooden structure in Michigan. It also is considered one of the best examples of French-Canadian "piece-sur-piece" construction in the Old Northwest. Local historical preservationists have restored the building to depict its appearance in 1797, when Peter Navarre, Hutreau's son, lived in it.

Next to the trading post is another building that played an important role in Monroe County history, the Navarre-Morris Cabin. Built about 1812, it is believed to have been used as a hospital during the War of 1812.

Monroe's connection to the War of 1812 should not be underestimated On January 18, 1813, advancing Americans from Kentucky captured the River Raisin settlement from Canadian Militia and Native Americans in a brisk three hour fight. On January 22 the encamped Americans were counterattacked at dawn by combined forces of British Regulars, Canadian Militia and their Native allies, and where overwhelmed. The next day Native Americans killed 60 wounded Kentuckians, establishing the emotional motivation for later American actions, and prompting the war cry "Remember the Raisin".

The battle destroyed the Frenchtown settlement and forced its settlers to flee. The battle also wiped out a third of the U.S. Army in the Northwest Territory, and gave the British strategic control of the Great Lakes until the Battle of Lake Erie in September, 1813. At least 300 Americans died during the conflict. Of the nearly 1,000 Kentucky soldiers who rushed to save Frenchtown from British invasion, only 33 escaped death or capture.

The event marks the only time in American history that a U.S. city surrendered to an enemy nation.

The importance of the battle is commemorated in several ways. People wanting to learn more about this era should visit the River Raisin Battlefield Visitors Center on E. Elm Ave., the Memorial Place monument on N. Monroe St., and several historical markers in the E. Elm Ave.-N. Dixie Hwy.-E. Front St, area. The Sawyer House, 320 E. Front St., is also important because its predecessor, Francois Navarre's home, served as American Gen. James Winchester's headquarters until his capture in that battle.

Francois Navarre, like so many other Frenchtown settlers, had to flee his home after the battle. Shortly after the settlers began to return, Monroe County was created in July, 1817.

A month after Monroe County's creation, Joseph Loranger donated a one-mile square portion of his farm -- and $1,000 of his money-- so the community could build its first courthouse. The county has replaced the courthouse twice since then. The current structure was built in 1871, after its predecessor was destroyed in a stunning fire.

Two other historic structures in Monroe County -- and there are literally dozens of them, from public buildings to private homes -- are Bridge School in Raisinville Township and the Old Mill in Dundee.

The one-story Bridge School, now the Raisinville Township Hall, is at 96 Ida-Maybee Rd. The building, built in 1868, represents the site of the first public school in Michigan, a log- cabin structure erected in 1828.

The Old Mill, on M-50 and the banks of the River Raisin, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built about 1865 as a water grist mill. It then was used to generate electricity for the village.

In the 1930s, Henry Ford turned the building into a factory. Both Ford Motor Co. and Wolverine Manufacturing and Fabricating Co. used it for manufacturing until the building was donated to the village in 1970.

The building now is used as a museum to depict early rural life in Dundee and surrounding areas. Another section serves as the chambers for the Dundee Village Council.

Much of the local history can be studied at the Monroe County Historical Museum, 126 S. Monroe St. The museum is housed in an imposing Georgian style building which occupies the site of General George Custer's home. The collection starts with exhibits of prehistoric life in the area. Monroe county has more registered historic and archeological sites than any other county in Michigan.

The exhibit then focuses on the French period of the 18th century. It soon becomes apparent how the French Canadian lifestyle influenced the development of the Monroe area. The museum then presents the period during which Michigan became a state. At the time of statehood, Monroe was Michigan's second largest city, and second most populous county.

Of particular interest is the report of the "Toledo War", a boundary conflict with Ohio in 1835. This moment in history is commemorated by a granite marker in Erie Township, at the end of Edgewater Road, which was dedicated in 1915

The "War" was ultimately settled by giving Toledo to the Buckeye State, and compensating Michigan by ceding the Upper Peninsula to it (from Wisconsin). The loss of Toledo soon became Michigan's winning Lotto ticket, since the mineral booms of the Keweenaw area in the 1840's put our state on the map, and created capital which was latter used to build the lumber and automobile industries.

Among the museum's most interesting areas is the General Custer collection. Though born in New Rumley, Ohio, George Armstrong Custer made Monroe his home from the age of ten. This audacious and flamboyant young man made his way to West Point, and became America's youngest general at age 23 during the Civil War. Custer was a bold warrior, ready to lead a charge. He stood out in a crowd, always wearing a bright red scarf on his regulation army uniform.

Custer was the first Union officer contacted by General Lee at the time of surrender in Appomattox, and sat at the table with General Grant at the signing of the armistice.

Custer returned to Monroe for a time, before leaving for the frontier and the Indian Wars of the 1870's. He kept a meticulous diary of his observations and sent many letters to his wife in Monroe. He had a book published about life on the frontier. Custer's career, life, and much of his reputation came to an abrupt end at the Little Big Horn river in 1876. His relatives continued to live in Monroe well into the 1940's.

A much happier story than Custer's began in Monroe in 1927, for in March of that year cousins Edwin Shoemaker and Edward Knabusch, both very young men, quit their secure jobs and joined forces to start a furniture manufacturing business. The business was started in Edward's father's garage, and was soon operated under the name of Floral City Furniture. The two boys worked 16 hour days to get the company started, and took only $5.00 weekly salaries.

Floral City soon outgrew the garage but could find no expansion money from the banks (typical). Fortunately friends and family provided enough money so that the boys could build - by themselves - brick by brick - a new plant in a corn field on the outskirts of Monroe. Within a year what would become the most traveled highway in Michigan - US- 24, was laid right in front of their factory door.

In 1928 the boys introduced a new model. The chair was made from wooden slats and resembled a lawn or porch chair of the time -- except that it reclined to become more comfortable. The entire design for the chair was refined using parts from orange crates!

With a unique and desired product, the cousins were afraid that others would copy their idea. So they incorporated the company in 1929, and filed a patent on their design. Their families were so confident of the success of the new business that they contributed $10,000 from their own pockets to cover patent and start-up costs. Ed Shoemaker's father had to mortgage his farm.

Soon after incorporation, Ed Knabusch made a sales call on a department store in Toledo, where he met some resistance from the buyer. Arthur Richardson of the Lions Store refused to buy the wood-slat chair, but suggested that he might be interested in an upholstered chair of the same design that could be used year-round in the home.

The boys started producing upholstered chairs, and sales began to grow. They joined with the Michigan Chair Company of Grand Rapids to make even more chairs. Within a year Floral City had tripled in size, and a second floor was added to the plant.

By late 1929 Floral City was a booming business, but it lacked a good name for its principal product. So the boys held a contest to name the chair. Entries included Sit-N- Snooze, Slack-Back and Comfort Carrier. But the owners felt that La-Z-Boy was the best name!

With the depression just starting, Ed Knabusch created a marketing strategy that used "Furniture Shows" to attract people in Toledo and Detroit. He used tents to display the chairs and included performing "circus mice" to attract children and their families. The tent was decorated with shrubs and flowers, and fresh fruit was often given to the customers.

Floral City prospered throughout the depression, and changed its name to La-Z-Boy Chair Company in 1941. Chair production was suspended during the war as La-Z-Boy concentrated on defense work such as tank seats and crash pads. The La-Z-Boy chair reappeared in 1946, and by 1953 the founders had established the La-Z-Boy Foundation to provide support to the YMCA, United Way and local Red Cross. La-Z-Boy bought the old Monroe post office and donated it to the city for use as the Monroe County Historical Museum. La-Z-Boy donations in Monroe and around the state have reached many millions of dollars.

Since 1961 the company has literally exploded. It has bought or built more than 4.5 million square feet of manufacturing space, more area than 78 football fields! Today the company employs some 11,000 people around the world and produces more than 30,000 chairs and sofas each week. With sales of $850 million per year, La-Z-Boy ranks as the third largest furniture company in America, and the largest producer of upholstered furniture!

A well thought out sales and marketing campaign was instrumental in the company's growth. Through the years the company's spokesmen have included Bing Crosby, Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson, Joe Namath and Alex Karas.

During the decade of the 60's the company saw its sales skyrocket from $1.1 million to $52.7 million propelled by a radio and TV campaign featuring Jim Backus and his alter- ego Mr. Magoo. The campaign was a record setter - Backus made more than 15,000 radio and TV commercials for La-Z-Boy, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The history of Monroe continues to be written. World-wide corporations like Monroe Automotive and La-Z-Boy bring economic vitality to the area while the character of its people is exemplified by their own Kaye Lani Rafko.

Kaye Rafko was a cancer care nurse before being crowned Miss America in 1988, and not only returned to her profession, but also to her home town after her reign was complete. Though more talented and beautiful than most of her successors, Kaye Rafko resisted the siren call of Hollywood, and the narcotic of fame and fortune. She and her husband Charles Wilson live in Petersburg with their four year old son. She is certainly a role model for all young women -- and men alike.

Today, in 1996, Ed Shoemaker is the sole surviving founder of the La-Z-Boy company, and still keeps a home in Monroe. Sales of La-Z-Boy products continue to grow from Australia to England under the chairmanship of Ed Knabusch's son Charles.. And the new advertising campaign, which attempts to tell people that the company produces many kinds of furniture beyond the famous reclining chair, features nature's number one comfort seeking animal in the persons of Al and Wendall the raccoons.

Tens of thousands of people owe their livelihood and prosperity to the two young cousins who risked everything to start their small business some 69 years ago. They chose to live on $5 a week when FORD was paying $5 per day. How different would Monroe or Michigan be if Ed Shoemaker and Ed Knabusch had moved to Dearborn in 1927. If they had taken the "big buck", and left business to the "eastern money men"? Don't fool yourself into thinking that there would be just as many chairs or just as many jobs if La-Z- Boy had never been started, because what we have today is just the sum total of everything that was done before. Just as what we will have tomorrow depends on what we do now.

Michigan Traveler extends its many thanks to the Monroe County Convention and Tourist Bureau, La-Z-Boy Chair Company and their public relations firm, L. C. Williams and Associates, and especially to Allison Whittier for her help in making this article possible. For more information contact Monroe County Tourism at 800-252-3011 or the Monroe County Historical Museum at 313-243-7137. We don't know where to get hold of Wendall!