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History · Monroe

Monroe’s post office opened in 1822, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

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

1822first post office

0on the National Register

51%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Monroe began

When was Monroe founded?

1822

The Monroe post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1828.

First census: 244 in 18602020 census: 478204 years

Founding year: the first Monroe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1828.

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.Old housesHalf of Monroe’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Monroe.

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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.

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The story so far

Monroe, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Monroe yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Monroe (also referred to as Monroeton) is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 482 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 554 to 478 (-14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Monroe, 1822 to 1943

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

19th century
1822Post officeThe Monroe post office opens
1829Post officeThe Monroe post office closes
1829Post officeThe Monroeton post office opens
20th century
1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monroe, 1886–1900

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

ton County ; thence southwardly along the said county line till it intersects the northern line of Lehigh County ; thence eastwardly along the top of the Blue Mountain to the southwest coiner of Monroe County ; thence northwardly along the Monroe County line, and continue the same point of compass … — **History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania**1886 · page 1009Read the page →
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ton County ; thence southwardly along the said county line till it intersects the northern line of Lehigh County ; thence eastwardly along the top of the Blue Mountain to the southwest coiner of Monroe County ; thence northwardly along the Monroe County line, and continue the same point of compass in a direct line through Tobyhanna township, in Monroe County, to such point as may strike the Luzerne County line ;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

began to carve out a home and fortune for himself. He has been engaged with Richard Staples, for a period of nearly thirty years, in the lumber business, in Monroe, Luzerne and Pike Counties, shipping large quantities to Philadelphia and other markets, and making large sales to railroad corporation… — **History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania**1886 · page 1169Read the page →
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began to carve out a home and fortune for himself. He has been engaged with Richard Staples, for a period of nearly thirty years, in the lumber business, in Monroe, Luzerne and Pike Counties, shipping large quantities to Philadelphia and other markets, and making large sales to railroad corporations, in the construction by contract of sections of the New York,
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Y., and there died. Our subject's maternal grandfather, John Lewis Myers, was a native of Hessen- Cassel, Germany, and on his emigration to America, in 1775, located in Monroe (then Northampton) county, where he continued to make his home. He was buried in the cemetery at Hamilton Church, one of th… — **Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania**1900 · page 227Read the page →
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Y., and there died. Our subject's maternal grandfather, John Lewis Myers, was a native of Hessen- Cassel, Germany, and on his emigration to America, in 1775, located in Monroe (then Northampton) county, where he continued to make his home. He was buried in the cemetery at Hamilton Church, one of the first churches established in Monroe county, it being organized in 1745.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

sion which she now occupies, and who is a daughter of Hon. John and Lydia (Shick) Merwine. Her great-grandfather was one of the first settlers of Monroe county, coming with his two brothers, and purchasing a large tract of land in what is now Aionroe county, but was then incorporated within the lim… — **Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania**1900 · page 813Read the page →
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sion which she now occupies, and who is a daughter of Hon. John and Lydia (Shick) Merwine. Her great-grandfather was one of the first settlers of Monroe county, coming with his two brothers, and purchasing a large tract of land in what is now Aionroe county, but was then incorporated within the limits of Northampton county. He built the first house on the property, and remained there
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.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Monroe on the map, 1943 to 1999

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

1943Monroeton 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.

People over time

Monroe, census by census

Between 244 and 627 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Monroe had its own post office from 1822 to 1829.

Monroe

1822–1829

Monroeton

1829–today

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Monroeton

1cemetery inside Monroe

Monroeton

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

Questions about Monroe’s history

What year was Monroe founded?

The Monroe post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1828.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →

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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 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.

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