Monroe is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

located in eastern

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...

, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census. Monroe is largely considered a bedroom community of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, and

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

History

On May 15, 1656, the Court of the Colony of Connecticut in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

affirmed that the town of Stratford included all of the territory inland from

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

, between the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

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 The Golden Hill Paugussett is a state-recognized Native American tribe in Connecticut. Granted reservations in a number of towns in the 17th century, their land base was whittled away until they were forced to reacquire a small amount of territory ...

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. Monroe incorporated as a town in 1823. The community is named after

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, fifth President of the United States.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.76%, is water. The

Pequonnock River The Pequonnock River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed 2011-04-01. waterway in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut. Its watershed is located in five communities, w ...

begins in Monroe in Wolfe Park. Monroe borders Lake Zoar, a reservoir on the

formed by the Stevenson Dam.

Neighborhoods

Monroe is made up of several neighborhoods: * East Village *Midtown * Monroe Center *North Central *

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

*Stevenson *

Upper Stepney Stepney, also referred to as Stepney Village and Upper Stepney, is a district of the town of Monroe, Connecticut, and on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Consisting of approximately , Stepney extends from the Trumbull town line, ...

* Whitney Farms *Zoar

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 18,825 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 84.6% White, 2.4% African American, 6.2% Asian, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.8% of the population.

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 19,247 people, 6,481 households, and 5,346 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 6,601 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.20%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.08% Native American, 2.62% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino people of any race were 2.20% of the population. There were 6,481 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. Of all households 14.9% were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.31. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $85,000 and the median income for a family was $92,514. Males had a median income of $61,109 versus $41,572 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $34,161. About 1.8% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Notable locations

Stepney Cemetery Stepney Cemetery is an old cemetery in Monroe, Connecticut, United States, located in the village of Stepney. It was established next to the Stepney Green in 1794. Many of the area's earliest settlers are buried in the cemetery; the oldest hea ...

, founded in 1794 and located near the

Green *Monroe Green, a private park in Monroe Center bordered by churches and municipal buildings. * The Warren's Occult Museum, a collection of occult artifacts *Village Square Shopping Center, former venue for the Classic Nights Car Club.

Locations on the National Register of Historic Places

Daniel Basset House The Daniel Basset House is a historic house at 1024 Monroe Turnpike in Monroe, Connecticut, built in 1775. It is significant for its association with events in the American Revolutionary War. It is documented to have hosted a ball for French off ...

– 1024 Monroe Turnpike (added September 23, 2002) *

Monroe Center Historic District The Monroe Center Historic District is a historic district in Monroe, Connecticut with significance dating to 1762. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It includes about 60 significant buildings, including Federa ...

– CT 110 and CT 111 (added September 19, 1977) *

Stevenson Dam Hydroelectric Plant The Stevenson Dam Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power plant located on the Housatonic River at the boundary between the towns of Monroe and Oxford, Connecticut. The Connecticut Light and Power Company began construction in 1917 (complete ...

– CT 34 (added October 29, 2000) *

Thomas Hawley House The Thomas Hawley House at 514 Purdy Hill Road in Monroe, Connecticut, is a historic Colonial American wooden post-and-beam saltbox farm house built in 1730. Hawley was the great grandson of Joseph Hawley (Captain) of Stratford, Connecticut, th ...

– 514 Purdy Hill Rd. (added May 11, 1980)

Places of worship

The town of Monroe features eleven houses of worship representing numerous faiths. * Beacon Hill Evangelical Free –

Evangelical Free Church of America The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a denomination in the Evangelical Protestant tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Associ ...

* Good Shepherd Lutheran Church –

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

* Faith World Outreach –

non-denominational Christian Nondenominational Christianity (or non-denominational Christianity) consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian de ...

* Monroe Congregational Church – Congregationalist * Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel –

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

* Pilgrims Pathway Wesleyan Church –

Wesleyans Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

* Saint Jude Church –

* Saint Peter's Episcopal Church – Episcopal * Stepney Baptist Church –

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

* United Methodist Church of Monroe –

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

* Islamic Community of Fairfield County –

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

Government

Monroe is a stalwart Republican town at the presidential level with the longest streak of supporting the GOP in Fairfield County. No Democrat has won the town in over 60 years. Lyndon B. Johnson came the closest in his landslide victory in 1964, having lost the town by only 17 votes to

Barry M. Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for preside ...

Education

Monroe Public Schools oversees public education and includes approximately 4,000 students, in three elementary schools (Fawn Hollow, Monroe Elementary, and Stepney Elementary), two middle schools (Jockey Hollow and

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

Academy), and one high school (

Masuk High School Masuk High School is a public high school in Monroe, Connecticut, United States, and includes grades 9 through 12. It is located on Connecticut Route 111 (Monroe Turnpike) in Monroe, between Old Coach Road and Pond View Road. The school has an in ...

). In 2011, STEM Academy was opened at Masuk High School as an additional middle school option for Monroe's 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Chalk Hill Middle School housed Monroe's 5th and 6th graders from 1969 to 2011 (when it was closed due to shifting population and budget issues). From 2012 to 2016, Chalk Hill was the home of

Sandy Hook Elementary School Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

in Newtown following the December 14, 2012 shooting.

Media

*The town of Monroe owns and operates the FM radio station

WMNR WMNR (88.1 FM, "Fine Arts Radio") is a radio station licensed to Monroe, Connecticut. The station is municipally owned by the Town of Monroe and broadcasts mainly classical music. History The station was founded in 1971 by John and Carol Babi ...

. *The ''Monroe Courier'' was the weekly town newspaper until it was shut down in October 2018. *The two local online newspaper are the Monroe Patch and the Monroe Sun.

Infrastructure

Roads

Connecticut Route 25 Route 25 is a , primary state highway connecting the city of Bridgeport and the town of Brookfield in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 25 is a six-lane freeway from Bridgeport to northern Trumbull and a two-lane surface road the r ...

, Main Street, runs across Monroe from Upper Stepney to the Trumbull town line. The highway starts in Brookfield/

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and runs to

. From Brookfield through Monroe, it is a 2-lane road, and just over the Monroe-Trumbull border within Trumbull, it becomes a 6-lane freeway which connects to

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. *

Connecticut Route 34 Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is long, and extends from Washington Avenue near I-84/US 6 in Newtown to the junction of I-95 and I-91 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury a ...

runs through the northern (Stevenson) section of Monroe. The route begins in Newtown and ends in

, where it connects with

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...

and

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. ** Stevenson Dam, which holds back Lake Zoar, and is the bridge for CT Route 34 across the

Connecticut Route 59 Route 59 is a north–south state highway in Connecticut, running from Bridgeport to Monroe. Between Bridgeport and Easton, Route 59 used to be the Stratfield and Weston Turnpike, which operated from 1797 to 1886. Modern Route 59 was des ...

begins at its intersection with Route 25 in Monroe and travels south through Easton and Fairfield, where it ends in

. *

Connecticut Route 110 Route 110 is a state highway in Connecticut running for from US 1 in Stratford to Route 111 in Monroe. In Shelton, Route 110 is designated the Veterans Memorial Highway. Route description Route 110 begins at an intersection with US 1 in Str ...

begins in Monroe at its intersection with Route 111, then travels through Shelton before ending in Stratford. *

Connecticut Route 111 Route 111 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, United States, running from the Merritt Parkway ( Route 15) in Trumbull to Route 34 in Monroe. The junction with the Merritt Parkway is currently the only single-point urban i ...

, Monroe Turnpike, begins at its intersection with Route 34 in Monroe and runs south to Trumbull, where it terminates just north of Bridgeport at the

Merritt Parkway The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County. Designed for Connecticut's Gold Coast, the parkway is known ...

Parks and recreation

The Monroe Parks and Recreation Department manages Monroe's parks. *

Webb Mountain Park Webb Mountain Park is a 135-acre municipal park in Monroe, Connecticut, offering hiking trails, rock climbing, nature study, and campsites. The park backs up onto land where a historic castle building and residences for nuns are located. Webb Mou ...

, a municipal park with hiking trails and campsites *

William E. Wolfe Park William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

, a town park located on Cutlers Farm Road and on the northern end of Cross Hill Road. The park includes a public pool, four

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

fields, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

field, a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

court, a playground, and a hiking trail that leads to

Great Hollow Lake Great Hollow Lake is approximately in size and is a part of William E. Wolfe Park, located in Monroe, Connecticut Monroe is a town located in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census. ...

. The park includes a barbecue set up on the grass, and a nearby pavilion.

is located in the south-western area of the park. *The Housatonic Railway Trail is an approximately five-mile section of the scenic walking and biking

trail that runs from

in Wolfe Park through the Newtown Town line.

Emergency services

Fire department

Monroe is protected by three independent and all-volunteer fire departments operating out of six fire stations. In 1916, 45 men and women formed the first volunteer fire company in Monroe, the Stepney Volunteer Fire Company. In 1923 the Stepney Company built its own firehouse, which housed their first fire truck. It is the only Ladder Company in the Town of Monroe. Also in 1923, the Monroe Volunteer Fire Department was established.

Emergency medical services

Monroe is served by the Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, founded 1977.

Police department

Officially organized in 1952, the Monroe Police Department operates out of Monroe Town Hall.Monroe Police Department
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Notable people

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall ...

, former Duke basketball standout and NBA player *

Mary O'Hara Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...

, author of ''My Friend Flicka'' and other books; lived on an estate called Tyrawley on Bagburn Hill Road for nearly 20 years *

Jesse Schwartz ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The se ...

, the voice of Leo on ''

Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The s ...

'' *

Ed and Lorraine Warren Edward Warren Miney (September 7, 1926 – August 23, 2006) and Lorraine Rita Warren (; January 31, 1927 – April 18, 2019) were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a ...

, paranormal investigators and authors *

Ed Wojna Edward David Wojna (pronounced Wo-hee-na) (born August 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians. Wojna is of Pol ...

, former Major League pitcher

Images

File:Monroe, CT II.JPG, Webb Mountain Park Discovery Zone, Classroom Court pond File:Monroe Connecticut one-room schoolhouse.JPG, The East Village Barn Hill Schoolhouse of 1790 File:Edith Wheeler Memorial Library.JPG, Edith Wheeler Memorial Library File:Wolfe Park Fountain.jpg, Fountain and pond at Wolfe Park File:Great Hollow Lake fisherman Monroe Connecticut.jpg,

in Monroe

References

External links

Town of Monroe official website
{{authority control Towns in Connecticut Towns in Fairfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area