A cholera epidemic swept through the village in 1848, but even a disaster of this magnitude failed to seriously affect the economic
growth of Monroe. The 1850s saw the establishment of Monroe's first bank, a flour mill, a sawmill, the first newspaper, the organization
of the public school system, and a fire department. In 1858, Monroe was incorporated as a village. Immigrants continued to arrive
in the village from the eastern United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Norway, Germany, and Switzerland. Monroe became heavily
Swiss by the late 1860s, with arrivals from both the New Glarus area and Europe. The dairying knowledge of the Swiss was to become
crucial in an important agricultural shift which occurred in Green County in the middle to late 1800s.
Early farmers in
Green County had raised wheat almost exclusively. By the 1870s, a serious wheat oversupply had developed due to marketing problems,
low demand in the post-war years, and the opening of better wheat growing lands to the west. Compounding the problem was a cinch bug
infestation and the depletion of the soil by farmers who did not practice crop rotation. Fortunately, the Swiss settlers of Green
County had imported the knowledge of dairying and cheesemaking. Some specialized cheesemakers had been operating in the county since
the 1850s, however, a burgeoning market for semi-hard cheeses such as Swiss began to develop in the late 1800s. Although there were
many ups and downs in dairying and cheesemaking during this period, by 1900 Monroe was truly the "Swiss Cheese Capitol of the United
States."
As the cheese industry prospered, so did the City of Monroe. Originally serving as the major service center for the
county, Monroe soon added several warehousing facilities and became the focus of wholesale and retail cheese sales. As the change
in economics took place, it induced alterations in the operation and appearance of Monroe. Shops that previously had carried general
merchandise now became more specialized, and the appearance of photographers, booksellers, and jewelers testified to both growing
diversity and increasing prosperity.
Monroe's earliest manufacturing had consisted of a small brewery and planing mill, both in the
south part of the commercial district. But with the growth of capital, made possible by the alliance between the early merchants and
the Swiss dairymen, larger manufacturing concerns were established. Manufacturing in the southern part of the commecial district became
so extensive that it paid the Illinois Central Railroad to build a spur line up to the brewery buildings.
Finally, the economic success
generated by commerce in the city naturally encouraged service industries and social centers to become established. Hotels had already
dotted the district, due to the presence of the county courthouse. Many of these were quite elaborate structures and a few still remain
standing.
Today much of the city's economy is based on companies that make and distribute cheese, but other activities have been developed
as well. Monroe is the seat of Green County government, as well as an important industrial, retail, service, and medical center for
a large portion of southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois.
