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–Not graded
History · Monroe

Monroe’s post office opened in 1854, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1860.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Monroe began

When was Monroe founded?

1854

The Monroe post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Monroe (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 619 in 18602020 census: 864172 years
Founding year: the first Monroe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 writtenNo old photos of Monroe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then more than doubled.
★ 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Monroe, census by census

0200400600800190019502000619 in 1860Low: 356

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Monroe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monroe.

Read it all →

In 1762, colonial Governor John Wentworth issued a grant ("Number 11") to 64 persons obligated to clear, farm and settle one tenth of each of their parcels or forfeit the grant. Only two made the attempt, but the charter was extended, in 1769, for another five years. Eleven of the original 64 grantees were named Lyman. In that same year, Wentworth also granted to one Colonel John Hurd of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, part of the land which is today within the bounds of Monroe. The grant was named "Hurd's Location" and included five small islands in the Connecticut River, known as "Deer Islands", and a parcel of land from below the present Village Bridge to the foot of Fifteen Mile Falls.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monroe in 1904

Passages that mention Monroe, cut from the printed page as they were published.

CHILDREN 33. George Washington, b. Bath, Sept. 25, 1832; m. Eliza Etta Richards, Oct. 2, 1859, at Monroe, Wis. He commenced his life work as "yard man" at Boston, for the Fitchburg railroad. In .September, 1854, with his brother Sherburn, he located at Milwaukee, Wis., and became brakeman on the Mi…
History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire1904 · page 369Read the page →
Read the text

CHILDREN 33. George Washington, b. Bath, Sept. 25, 1832; m. Eliza Etta Richards, Oct. 2, 1859, at Monroe, Wis. He commenced his life work as "yard man" at Boston, for the Fitchburg railroad. In .September, 1854, with his brother Sherburn, he located at Milwaukee, Wis., and became brakeman on the Milwaukee & Mississippi railroad ; soon after, passenger conductor. From 1868 to 1870, he was assistant superintendent of the Northern division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. Was super-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Monroe, 1854 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Monroe post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe North Monroe post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912Post officeThe North Monroe post office closes
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 864
By decade

Monroe, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Monroe, NH 7-27-252025Monroe, NH 7-27-25Monroe, NH 7-27-25 - 22025Monroe, NH 7-27-25 - 2
On the map

Monroe on the map, 1943 to 1983

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 1943 USGS mapMonroe on the 1983 USGS map1943St Johnsbury 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.

Famous people

Famous people close to Monroe

Nobody well known was born in Monroe itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bode MillerAmerican alpine ski racer · b. 1977
Eleanor H. PorterAmerican novelist · b. 1868
C
Chris HedgesAmerican journalist · b. 1956
Thaddeus StevensAmerican statesman · b. 1792
Solon Irving BaileyAmerican astronomer · b. 1854
Clement Calhoun YoungGovernor of California · b. 1869
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Monroe’s post office has been open since 1854. Another post office, North Monroe, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Monroe
1854–today
North Monroe
1854–1912
18501940today
Gone or out of use
North Monroe Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monroe
MonroeNorth Monroe

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.

Bath5 historic placesA+LymanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittleton5 historic placesA−

Questions about Monroe’s history

What year was Monroe founded?

The Monroe post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.