A picturesque community, Monroe was incorporated as a town in 1823 and was named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. It was formerly the parish of New Stratford in the town of Huntington. In the central part of the town there is a small village consisting of a dozen or more dwelling houses, 2 churches, the Town Hall, Library and Green.
Close by is the East Village Barn Hill Schoolhouse, c. 1790, a one room historic schoolhouse with authentic colonial and victorian school material and, the Eliot Beardsley Homestead, c. 1760 with museum exhibits. Monroe has the attributes of a quaint New Englands society with a touch of Southern pace. The town is a family-oriented community with an excellent school system, recreational facilities, expansive parks, restaurants, places of worship and attractive domiciles.