George Custer's hometown — and the ongoing debate over his statue

General George Armstrong Custer isn’t originally from Monroe — he was born in Ohio — but he grew up here from his early teens, went to school in Monroe, and married a local woman, Elizabeth Bacon, in the city in 1864. Monroe has long claimed him as its own: a large bronze equestrian statue of Custer, dedicated in 1910, stands at one of the busiest corners downtown, the county museum holds one of the largest Custer collections anywhere, and the area marks “Custer Week” each year. You’ll see his name on streets, a school, and the local airport.

Custer is also a deeply controversial figure. Celebrated in his day as a Civil War cavalry hero, he later played a leading role in the U.S. government’s wars against Native American nations — a history many people, and especially Native Americans, view as brutal and indefensible. In recent years that tension has come to a head in Monroe over the downtown statue: Native American organizations (including the United Tribes of Michigan), a petition with thousands of signatures, and local activists have called for the monument to be removed or moved to a museum, while others want it kept in place, and some favor a middle path of keeping it but adding signage that tells the fuller, harder story of his life. The city council took the question up but ultimately set the formal review aside without resolving it, so the statue remains where it is for now. If you spend time in Monroe, you’ll encounter Custer’s image often — and the disagreement over how the town should remember him is part of its present-day life.