Montserrado County – Providence Island and the founding of Monrovia (1822)
Montserrado County's history as a settlement began on 7 January 1822, when free people of colour arrived under the auspices of the American Colonization Society and settled on Providence Island in the Mesurado River. A few weeks earlier, in December 1821, Captain Robert F. Stockton and Dr. Eli Ayers had negotiated with local chiefs for land around Mesurado Bay.
By April 1822 the settlers had moved to the mainland, founding the town that became Monrovia, today the capital of Liberia. The area had long been home to indigenous peoples, whose history is also part of the county's story. Today Montserrado is the country's most populous county. Do you have a Montserrado or Monrovia story? Share it with the community!