Monroe is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in eastern

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. ...

, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region. Monroe is largely considered a bedroom community of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Stamford and

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

. Monroe contains the villages of

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney 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 was applied to ...

, Stevenson and Monroe Center.

History

On May 15, 1656, the Court of the

Colony of Connecticut The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers ...

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

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

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

, 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 ...

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 territor ...

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 Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, fifth President of the United States. On August 18, 2024 the town suffered from a flash flood which poured over 10 inches of rain on the town, causing many roads in town to flood and wash out, leaving many stranded. This included the Route 34 bridge near the Lake Zoar drive in getting washed away completely, leaving the road closed for an extended period of time.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, 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, ...

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 *

*Stevenson * Upper Stepney * 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 (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.20%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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, founded in 1794 and located near the

Green *Monroe Green, a private park in Monroe Center bordered by churches and municipal buildings. * The Warrens' 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 – 1024 Monroe Turnpike (added September 23, 2002) * Monroe Center Historic District – CT 110 and CT 111 (added September 19, 1977) * Stevenson Dam Hydroelectric Plant – CT 34 (added October 29, 2000) * Thomas Hawley House – 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 * Good Shepherd Lutheran Church –

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

* Faith World Outreach – non-denominational Christian * Monroe Congregational Church – Congregationalist * Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel –

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

* Pilgrims Pathway Wesleyan Church – Wesleyans * Saint Jude Church –

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

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

* 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 evangelical ...

* Islamic Community of Fairfield County –

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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 Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

came the closest in his landslide victory in 1964, having lost the town by only 17 votes to Barry M. Goldwater. It is the only municipality in Fairfield County (and one of only four statewide) that voted for Goldwater and subsequently voted for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in all three of his elections.

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 most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

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 a 25- ...

). 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 in Newtown following the December 14, 2012, shooting.

Media

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

, Main Street, runs across Monroe from Upper Stepney to the Trumbull town line. The highway starts in Brookfield/ Danbury 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 U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

. *

Connecticut Route 34 Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is long, and extends from Newtown near I-84 to Route 10 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury areas via the Lower Naugatuck River Valley. ...

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 System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

and

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

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

* Connecticut Route 59 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 Interstate 95 (I-95) 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 ...

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

Bus

The

Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority Greater Bridgeport Transit (GBT) is a Mass transit, transit service serving the Greater Bridgeport region of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Greater Bridgeport Transit was established in 1971 in anticipation of diminished bus service by the Connec ...

provides bus service for Monroe.

Train

Two train stations are located near Monroe: *

, 10.7 miles away. * Derby–Shelton, 6.4 miles away. Both stations are served by

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

. Bridgeport station is served by the

New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...

, Amtrak's

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

and the Vermonter. Derby–Shelton station is served only by the

Waterbury Branch The Waterbury Branch is a 28.5-mile (46 km) long branch of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, running north from a junction in the Devon section of Milford, Connecticut, Milford to Waterbury, Connecticut. Originally built as the Naug ...

. Both stations are easily accessible by bus routes or driving. The

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

used to serve the town.

Parks and recreation

The Monroe Parks and Recreation Department manages Monroe's parks. * Webb Mountain Park, a municipal park with hiking trails and campsites * William E. Wolfe Park, 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 games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

fields, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 (appro ...

court, a playground, and a hiking trail that leads to Great Hollow Lake. The park includes a barbecue set up on the grass, and a nearby pavilion. Great Hollow Lake 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 Great Hollow Lake 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
/ref>

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 the CW Courtside Saturday, ACC on The CW and CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted i ...

, former Duke basketball standout and NBA player * Stephen Kellogg, musician *

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 * Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors * Ed Wojna, 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, Great Hollow Lake in Monroe

External links

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