The History of Monroe, Michigan's Custer Week

As Monroe prepares for its 9th Annual Custer Week with a week full of fun and educational activities for residents and visitors, it seems fitting to take a brief look back at the history of the event.

John Patterson, President/CEO of the Monroe County Convention & Tourism Bureau, came up with the idea of setting aside one week each year to honor Monroe's most famous celebrity in 1999.

Looking back on that first year, Mr. Patterson wrote about his motivations in an article in the Monroe Journal, Volume 4 Issue 9.

"The mission of the week was very simply to bring awareness about the life of one of our community's most recognizable figures," he wrote.

Monroe's General Custer Living Historian Steve Alexander recently elaborated on this motivating force:

"John Patterson saw an empty void in the schools' curriculum concerning local history, especially Monroe's connection to George Armstrong Custer. A lot of students knew the name and were familiar with the statue downtown and I think his purpose was to draw awareness to the story behind the name and statue."

The historian also shared his experiences with similar events across the country, explaining that General Custer's impact on history was of such magnitude that Monroe needs a full week in order to properly honor him.

"A lot of the events that I attend around the country are typically a single day or a weekend. This story is so big, even after a hundred and thirty one years, that an entire week was created to fill the historical needs of the public and the students of Monroe."

Mr. Alexander said that Custer Week, like anything else, has taken time to catch on in Monroe.

"When "Custer Week" was into its seventh year, many of the downtown businesses hadn't caught on to the concept of a full week or they had not been aware of the previous events that had taken place in the city."

He credits his wife, Sandy, who heads the Custer Celebration Committee, with helping bring awareness about Custer Week to Monroe business owners.