Monroe is a town in Fairfield
County, Connecticut, United States. The
population was 19,247 at the 2000 census. The current first selectman is Andrew Nunn.
The town was recently featured in Forbes' "Best Places to Live" feature article. Monroe, like its neighbors, is largely
considered a bedroom community of New York City. Monroe's neighbors are Newtown, Easton, Oxford, Shelton, and Trumbull.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area
of 68.2 km² (26.3 mi²). 67.7 km² (26.1 mi²) of it
is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.76%) is water.
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.
The very first Monroe settlers came to the area, the northern limits of what was known as Old Stratford, in the early
eighteenth-century because they were running out of farm land. Each successive generation of settlers produced a larger
population of farmers with a need for more and more land. Many of these settlers were second and third generation Native
Americans. Their founding ancestors had purchased, charted and began to layout roads and clear land in the late
seventeenth-century. There are several towns that were established from the "Mother Town" of Stratford, or Cupheag, which was
incorporated in 1639. On May 17, 1671, Stratford purchased from the Paugusset Indians the territory which includes Monroe,
Bridgeport, Trumbull and Shelton, in what is known as "The White Hills Purchase", and officially annexed it to the Township of
Stratford. For more information click here.
City Information
Historical
population of
Monroe[1] |
| 1830 |
1,522 |
| 1840 |
1,351 |
| 1850 |
1,442 |
| 1860 |
1,382 |
| 1870 |
1,226 |
| 1880 |
1,157 |
| 1890 |
994 |
| 1900 |
1,043 |
| 1910 |
1,002 |
| 1920 |
1,161 |
| 1930 |
1,221 |
| 1940 |
1,728 |
| 1950 |
2,892 |
| 1960 |
6,402 |
| 1970 |
12,047 |
| 1980 |
14,010 |
| 1990 |
16,896 |
| 2000 |
19,247 |
Monroe Public Schools
The school district for Monroe includes approximately 4,500 students, in three elementary schools (Fawn Hollow, Monroe
Elementary, & Stepney Elementary) two middle schools (Jockey Hollow and Chalk Hill), and a high school (Masuk High School). The schools have many interesting programs. For more information click here.
Monroe's Private School
St.Jude School, a Catholic school with around 220 students. 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 every year in the end of August before school starts.
Parks
- Great Hollow Lake
- Webb Mountain Park
- William E. Wolfe Park is a town park located on Cutlers Farm Rd and on the northern end of Cross Hill Rd. The park includes a
public pool, 4 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.
On the National Register of Historic Places
Notable people from Monroe
- Mike Gminski, former Duke basketball standout and NBA player.
- Ed Warren and wife Lorraine Warren, renowned
paranormal researchers.
- Jesse Schwartz, the voice of Leo on Little
Einsteins. He currently lives in Monroe.
- Ed Wojna, former Major League pitcher.
Trivia
Home to renowned paranormal researchers Ed and
Lorraine Warren. The ghost, the "White Lady", of Union Cemetery has also been seen in Monroe, most commonly around Stepney Cemetery.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000,
there were 19,247 people, 6,481 households, and 5,346 families residing in the town. The population density was 284.4/km² (736.5/mi²). There were 6,601 housing units at an average density of
97.5/km² (252.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.87% White, 0.20% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% 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. 14.9% of all households 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.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[1] |
| Party |
Active Voters |
Inactive Voters |
Total Voters |
Percentage |
| |
Republican |
3,388 |
228 |
3,616 |
26.79% |
| |
Democratic |
2,200 |
122 |
2,322 |
17.21% |
| |
Unaffiliated |
7,074 |
479 |
7,553 |
55.96% |
| |
Minor Parties |
3 |
2 |
5 |
0.04% |
| Total |
12,665 |
831 |
13,496 |
100% |
References
- ^ Registration and
Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
External links
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