Monches was settled predominately by Irish Catholics in the 1840’s and was originally called O’Connellsville after Irish emancipator Daniel O’Connell. In 1848, a meeting was held to nominate the first postmaster, with Swiss miller Henry Kuntz and two Englishmen, John D. Hartley and John Whipp, applying; Hartley was elected postmaster. The village was named for Monches, who was part Potawatomi and part Chippewa and was buried on Hartley’s farm. In the 1890’s, the village had two schools, three general stores, the mill, two blacksmith shops, a wagon maker’s shop, a post office, a meat market, a creamery, two doctor’s offices, and several taverns. The area today retains the peace and tranquility of earlier times, and near the mill pond, Kuntz’s house, built in 1849, still stands.