Monroe County is located in west central Georgia about fifty miles south of Atlanta and twenty-five miles north of Macon. The state legislature designated the county seat as Forsyth in 1823.

The Monroe Railroad, begun in 1838, was the first railroad in Georgia and connected Forsyth to Macon. A later depot for the Central of Georgia Railway in Forsyth has been restored and now serves as the county's historical museum.

Agriculture was a substantial part of the county's economy until the era of the boll weevil, whose destruction of the county's cotton caused many farmers to turn to commercial dairy farming. However, agriculture declined in favor of timber-related industries and textile production. In 1968 the construction of Interstate 75 cemented the county's departure from agriculture in favor of manufacturing. Today one of the largest employers is Georgia Power Company.

Places of interest include the Chattahoochee National Forest (Monroe County is one of the eighteen counties over which this national forest spreads); High Falls State Park, a 1,050-acre park that features waterfalls; and Lake Juliette, a 3,600-acre reservoir operated by Georgia Power and open for waterfowl hunting. Many sites in Monroe County are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Hil'ardin/Sharp-Hardin-Wright House in Forsyth; the Montpelier Female Institute, west of Macon; and the State Teachers and Agricultural College for Negroes Women's Dormitory and Teachers' Cottage in Forsyth. Juliette, an abandoned railroad town in the county, was reconstructed as the fictional town of Whistle Stop for the making of the film Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). Today Juliette offers several souvenir shops as well as the operational Whistle Stop Cafe.