Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, and determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1910. The population was 137,974 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Bloomington.Monroe County is part of the Bloomington, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryMonroe County was formed in 1818 from portions of Orange County. It was named for James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, who was serving at the time the county was organized.GeographyAccording to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Bodies of waterMonroe County is divided between the basins of the East Fork and West Fork of Indiana's White River. The southern part of the county drains to the East Fork, primarily via Salt Creek and its tributaries, such as Clear Creek (known as "Jordan River" on Indiana University Bloomington campus). The northern part drains to the West Fork.Several artificial reservoirs have been constructed by damming the county's creeks. The largest of them is Lake Monroe, a large reservoir on the Salt Creek in the south-eastern part of the county, is used both for recreational purposes and to supply the city with drinking water. Until the late 1960s, the main source of water supply was the smaller Lake Lemon (constructed 1953), in the northeastern part of the county; now it's the backup water source, and is mainly used for recreation.
