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BHistory
History · Monroe

Monroe’s post office opened in 1823, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #128 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Most of Monroe was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1830.

1823first post office
3on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Monroe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Monroe began

When was Monroe founded?

1823

The Monroe post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Stepney (1822) and Stepney Depot (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,522 in 1830203 years

How historic is Monroe?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Monroe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Monroe’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monroe is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #128 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monroe’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±3.3) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 64 historic buildings, 33.8 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 18%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Monroe’s 33.8 sits below most of its state (31% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 64 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Monroe’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1830 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18897 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1984. Watch Monroe change.A historic districtThe Monroe Center Historic District takes in 60 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monroe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monroe’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStevenson station postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Monroe, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00018501900195020001,522 in 1830Low: 994

Lost a third of its people between 1830 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Monroe’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Monroe on the map, 1889 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monroe. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Monroe on the 1889 USGS mapMonroe on the 1891 USGS mapMonroe on the 1947 USGS mapMonroe on the 1953 USGS mapMonroe on the 1964 USGS mapMonroe on the 1973 USGS mapMonroe on the 1984 USGS map1889Derby sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monroe.

The story

How Monroe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monroe.

Read it all →

On May 15, 1656, the Court of the Colony of Connecticut in Hartford affirmed that the town of Stratford included all of the territory 12 miles (19 km) inland from Long Island Sound, between the Housatonic River and the Fairfield town line, to include the southern portion of present-day Monroe. In 1662, Stratford selectmen Lt. Joseph Judson, Captain Joseph Hawley and John Minor secured all the written deeds of transfer from the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation for this vast territory that comprises the present-day towns of Trumbull, Shelton and Monroe. In 1671, Stratford purchased from the Paugusset Indians the territory which included the remainder of the northern portions of Monroe, Trumbull and Shelton, in what is known as "The White Hills Purchase", and officially annexed it to the Township of Stratford.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Monroe, 1822 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Born hereSidney Burr Beardsley is born here
  3. 1822Post officeThe Stepney post office opens
  4. 1823Post officeThe Monroe post office opens
  5. 1846Born hereArthur Wells French is born here
  6. 1849Post officeThe Stepney Depot post office opens
  7. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Stepney post office closes
  10. 1907In the archiveStevenson station postcard
  11. 1959Born hereMike Gminski is born here
  12. 1960Post officeThe Stepney Depot post office closes
  13. 1963Born hereLeslie Bader is born here
  14. 21st century
  15. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 19,479
By decade

Monroe, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Stevenson station postcard1907–1915Stevenson station postcardPostcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
MonroeSignBack2009MonroeSignBackMonroeCTSign2009MonroeCTSignMonroe, Connecticut 051009 26 212009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 21Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 202009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 20Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 192009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 19Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 172009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 17Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 142009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 14Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 132009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 13Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 122009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 12Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 112009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 11Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 102009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 10Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 092009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 09Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 082009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 08Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 072009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 07Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 062009Monroe, Connecticut 051009 26 06Looking Out from Waters Edge2008Looking Out from Waters EdgeUS-CT-Monroe2004US-CT-Monroe
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Stevenson station postcard
Retake this viewStevenson station postcard, 1907–1915

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Monroe’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 64 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
64
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Monroe Center Historic District
Monroe Center Historic DistrictThomas Hawley HouseDaniel Basset House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Postmedieval English1
Monroe Center Historic DistrictDistrict
Thomas Hawley HouseBuilding
Daniel Basset HousePostmedieval English

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Monroe

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mike GminskiAmerican basketball player · b. 1959
L
Leslie BaderAmerican speed skater · b. 1963
A
Arthur Wells French19th century journalist and popular-song writer · b. 1846
Sidney Burr BeardsleyAmerican judge · b. 1822
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Monroe’s post office has been open since 1823. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stepney
1822–1901
Monroe
1823–today
Stepney Depot
1849–1960
Stevenson
1889–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East VillageStepneyStevensonUpper Stepney
Gone or out of use
Monroe Airportairport
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monroe
Cutlers FarmMonroeSaint John the Baptist Greek CatholicStepneyWalker Farm

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Newtown10 historic placesASandy Hook3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStepney1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEaston3 historic placesB+East Village1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShelton3 historic placesB−Oxford2 historic placesB+Trumbull3 historic placesA−Tashua2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDaniels FarmIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Monroe’s history

What year was Monroe founded?

The Monroe post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Monroe rank for history?

Monroe is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #128 of 155 in Connecticut. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Monroe?

Three places: the Monroe Center Historic District (listed 1977), the Thomas Hawley House (1980) and the Daniel Basset House (2002).

How old are the homes in Monroe?

7% of Monroe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.