Monroe, Connecticut facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monroe, Connecticut Town of Monroe
Town
Gazebo in front of town hall
Seal
Location in Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Fairfield
Metropolitan area	Bridgeport-Stamford
Incorporated	1823
Government
• Type	Selectman-town council
Area
• Total	26.3 sq mi (68.1 km2)
• Land	26.1 sq mi (67.7 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	522 ft (159 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,825
• Density	721.3/sq mi (278.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	06468
Area code(s)	203/475
FIPS code	09-48620
GNIS feature ID	0213463

Monroe is a town located in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census.

Monroe is largely considered a bedroom community of New York City, New Haven, and Bridgeport.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68 km²), of which 26.1 square miles (68 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²), or 0.76%, is water. The Pequonnock River begins in Monroe in Wolfe Park.

Neighborhoods

Monroe is made up of several neighborhoods:

• East Village
• Midtown
• Monroe Center
• North Central
• Stepney
• Stevenson
• Upper Stepney
• Zoar

History

The Monroe town seal is in the form of a circle with the words "Town of Monroe Connecticut" written in the outer rim of the seal. Inside this outer circle is a profile of a bust of James Monroe, who was the fifth President of the United States, serving from 1817-1825.

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  Monroe, Webb Mountain Park Discovery Zone, Classroom Court pond.

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  Sign in front of Monroe CT Town Hall

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  The East Village Barn Hill Schoolhouse of 1790

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  Edith Wheeler Memorial Library in Monroe, Connecticut

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  Monroe CT Gazebo

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  Old Truck and Barn in Monroe CT

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  Masuk Marching Band percussion

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  Fountain and Pond at Wolfe Park

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  Sign in front of Town Hall

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  Back of sign

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  Two fawns frolic in Monroe back yard

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  Masuk High School football

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  Great Hollow Lake in Monroe CT

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  Classic Nights Car Club Show in Monroe Connecticut May 2013

On May 15, 1656, the Court of the Colony of Connecticut in Hartford affirmed that the town of Stratford included all of the territory 12 miles (19 km) inland from Long Island Sound, between the Housatonic River 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 had secured all the written deeds of transfer from the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation 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.

The Stepney Dam in Monroe, Connecticut was erected in 1927.

The Stepney Dam is on Route 25.

Main Street at night in Monroe, CT.

Town information

Media

• The town of Monroe owns and operates the FM radio station WMNR.
• The Monroe Courier is the weekly town newspaper.
• The local online newspaper is the Monroe Patch.

Monroe Public Schools

The school district for Monroe is called Monroe Public Schools and includes approximately 4,000 students, in three elementary schools (Fawn Hollow, Monroe Elementary, and Stepney Elementary) two middle schools (Jockey Hollow and recently opened STEM Academy), and a high school (Masuk High School). In 2011, the STEM Academy at Masuk High School was opened as an alternative school option for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

Private school

St. Jude School, a Catholic school with around 220 students, is located next to St. Jude Parish on Route 111, very close to Route 111's and 110's intersection. St. Jude holds a carnival in the parking lot in the back of the church every year in the end of August before the school year begins.

In 2003, the St. Jude boys junior varsity basketball team won the New England CYO tournament, defeating Springfield, Massachusetts in the championship, becoming the first team from St. Jude to win the tournament. The first selectman of the town dedicated a day to them. In 2005, they returned to the tournament in Rhode Island as 8th graders. After defeating Worcester and Boston, they lost to Hartford by 5.

In 2006, the St. Jude boys junior varsity again won the New England CYO tournament, defeating Hartford, Connecticut.

Places of worship

The town of Monroe features ten houses of worship representing numerous faiths.

Notable locations

• Lake Zoar, a reservoir on the Housatonic River
• Stevenson Dam, which holds back Lake Zoar, and is the bridge for CT Route 34 across the Housatonic
• Stepney Cemetery, founded in 1794 and located near the Stepney Green
• 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 fields, a football field, a basketball 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.
• Rails to Trails is an approximately 5 mile scenic walking and biking trail that runs from Great Hollow Lake in Wolfe Park, and continues to the Newtown Town line where it currently ends. It is being considered to connect Monroe's walking trail to Trumbull's, which would connect both Monroe, Trumbull, and Bridgeport's Rails to Trails paths.
• The Warren's Occult Museum: world-renowned museum with hundreds of thousands of yearly visits that houses the largest array of occult artifacts from the Ed and Lorraine Warren investigations.

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)

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. [1]

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,247 people, 6,481 households, and 5,346 families residing in the town. The population density was 736.5 people per square mile (284.4/km²). There were 6,601 housing units at an average density of 252.6 per square mile (97.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.8% White, 0.20% African American, 0.08% Native American, 2.62% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 for the town was $34,161. About 1.8% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

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 Academy), and one high school (Masuk High School).

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.

Infrastructure

Roads

• Connecticut Route 25, Main Street, runs across Monroe from Upper Stepney to the Trumbull town line. The highway starts in Brookfield/Danbury and runs to Bridgeport. 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.
• Connecticut Route 34 runs through the northern (Stevenson) section of Monroe. The route begins in Newtown and ends in New Haven, where it connects with I-91 and I-95.
  • Stevenson Dam, which holds back Lake Zoar, and is the bridge for CT Route 34 across the Housatonic River
• Connecticut Route 59 begins at its intersection with Route 25 in Monroe and travels south through Easton and Fairfield, where it ends in Bridgeport.
• Connecticut Route 110 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.

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 fields, a football field, a basketball 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 Pequonnock River 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.

Images for kids

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  Humphrey Bogart's former home in Monroe now belongs to the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

See also

In Spanish: Monroe (Connecticut) para niños