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St. Mary's Church Complex Historic District

The St. Mary's Church Complex Historic District is a historic district located at the junction of Elm Avenue and North Monroe Street in the city of Monroe, Michigan. It was listed as a Michigan Historic Site and added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1982. The complex itself consists of four buildings. The centerpiece of the district is St. Mary Church at 117 North Monroe Street. The church traces its origins to the St. Antoine aux Rivière Raisin, which was founded on October 15, 1788, and it is the oldest church in Monroe County. The current site was constructed in 1834, consecrated in 1839, and renamed in 1845. That year, the church fell under the leadership of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was founded in Monroe the same year. In 1846, St. Mary Academy was an all-girls educational facility built down the road from the church, while Monroe Catholic Central was an all-boys school built right next to the main church. These two schools merged in 1986 to form the coeducational St. Mary Catholic Central high school, which stayed in the heavily expanded Monroe Catholic Central building next to the church at 108 West Elm Avenue. It remains there to this day as the largest building in the historic district and the largest private school in the county. The original church building remained unchanged from its completion in 1839 until it was expanded in 1903. The Brothers of the Holy Cross residential building was constructed in 1870, and the St. Mary Parochial Elementary School was completed in 1903. The current rectory was added to the north side of the church in the 1920s. All of these buildings have their own unique architecture. With only some additions to the SMCC building, the remaining buildings on the complex have remained largely unchanged since the 1920s. Today, St. Mary Church is one of the most important religious institutions in Monroe. The St. Mary's Church Complex Historic District is bordered to the west by Borgess Avenue, to the north by West Willow Street, to the south by Elm Avenue, and to the east by North Monroe Street for an area of about 60 acres . The district is located across Elm Avenue from the George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument and across North Monroe Street from the East Elm-North Macomb Street Historic District. The church complex is also located just across the River Raisin from the Old Village Historic District.

Governor Robert McClelland House

The Governor Robert McClelland House is a private residence located at 47 East Elm Avenue in the city of Monroe in Monroe County, Michigan. It was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on March 3, 1971, and it was the first property in the county to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1971. The house was named in honor of famed politician Robert McClelland, who owned the house from 1841-1853. Today, the house is also part of the larger East Elm-North Macomb Street Historic District and is located in its original location just east of North Monroe Street and across East Elm Avenue from the River Raisin in one of the oldest sections of Monroe. The house was built in 1841 in the style of Greek Revival architecture for McClelland, who served as mayor of Monroe that same year. McClelland was a very well known local and state politician and eventually rose to national politics. He left Monroe to serve in the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 1st congressional district from 1843-1849. McClelland maintained ownership of the house even after he was elected Governor of Michigan in 1852. It was from this position that he was selected by President Franklin Pierce to be his Secretary of the Interior in 1853. At that point, McClelland sold his house to local merchant Benjamin Dansdard. The entire western portion of the house, which contains a library, bedroom, kitchen, and dining room, was not part of the original house and was later added. The front entrance was originally off-centered and surrounded by balusters, but these were removed with the addition of the west wing. Today, the house is privately owned.

Sawyer House

The Sawyer House, also known as the Sawyer Homestead and in its previous incarnation as the Navarre House, is a city-owned house located at 320 East Front Street in Monroe, Michigan. It was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on June 19, 1975. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1977 and is also part of the larger Old Village Historic District. The property was settled in as early as 1785 along the banks of the River Raisin, and it was the first piece of land settled by European explorers. There have been two different houses on the property since 1785. The first house on the property was built by early-French explorer Francois Navarre, who was the first European to settle the area that would later become Monroe. The property was given to Navarre from the native Potawatomi tribe and served as the center of the new settlement. The Navarre House was famously used as the military headquarters for James Winchester, who commanded his troops during the ill-fated Battle of Frenchtown during the War of 1812. The house had several different owners, but its namesake comes from Dr. Alfred Sawyer, who was a famous early proponents of homeopathy. Dr. Sawyer lived on the property from 1859-1870. When the Navarre House was demolished in 1873 to make way for the current house, it was the oldest structure in the county. The Sawyer House, built in Italianate architecture, replaced the Navarre House on the property in 1873. While Dr. Sawyer did not live in the house after 1870, the property remained in his family's ownership. His daughter, Jenny Toll Sawyer, gave the house to the city of Monroe in 1938. The house was used by a variety of organization, such as Red Cross, the Camp Fire Girls, and the Boy Scouts before being purchased and restored by the Monroe County Historical Society in 1973. Today, the house remains owned by the city of Monroe and is primarily used as a banquet hall for reserved events, such as weddings and wedding receptions.

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