Originally a parish of the Stratford Congregational Church, Monroe was sanctioned in 1762 as the New Stratford Ecclesiastical Society. In 1789, both the New Stratford Parish and the Ripton Parish were incorporated under the name of Huntington. It was not until May of 1823 that Monroe was granted township privileges by the Connecticut General Assembly. This act joined the separate villages of Stepney, Monroe Centre, East Village, and the area now known as Stevenson into a single entity known as the Town of Monroe, named for President James Monroe. In January 1959, a group of residents, concerned over the growing signs of changes to their town, came together to establish the Monroe Historical Society. They recognized that their rural farming community would succumb to the advancement of suburban development, and unless something was done, Monroe's early years would exist only in the memories of older residents. In the ensuing years, the Society has aspired to make the heritage of Monroe available to all residents through its collections, workshops, and educational programs. Keeping in mind that today is tomorrow's history, the Society is expanding its collections so that future generations will be able to see Monroe's changes from a rural community to the suburban town it is today.