Monterey Township is named for a battle in Mexico

Nothing in Monterey Township’s rolling farm country looks much like northern Mexico. The connection is in the name, and it comes from news that was still fresh when the township organized.

Allegan County’s official history says settlers first arrived here in 1836. When the state organized the township in 1847, local people asked that it be called Monterey. They chose the name to honor the U.S. victory at Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, led by Generals Zachary Taylor and William Worth.

The battle had taken place only months earlier, in September 1846. U.S. Army history describes three days of hard fighting through the city’s streets before Mexican forces surrendered. Taylor came home as a war hero and was elected president in 1848.

The township name is a small record of that moment. New communities often borrowed names from founders, distant hometowns, or public events. Here, residents picked a battle being discussed across the country. Salem Township was later separated from the original larger township, leaving Monterey with its present shape. The war happened far away, but its memory stayed on Allegan County maps. Every township sign still carries that 1847 choice.