Monroe is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 864 at the 2020 census, The town is located along the Connecticut River, across from Barnet, Vermont. It was originally chartered as part of Lyman.

History

thumb|left|220px|View over northern Monroe, NH, looking south

In 1762, colonial Governor John Wentworth issued a grant ("Number 11") to 64 persons obligated to clear, farm and settle one tenth of each of their parcels or forfeit the grant. Only two made the attempt, but the charter was extended, in 1769, for another five years. Eleven of the original 64 grantees were named Lyman. In that same year, Wentworth also granted to one Colonel John Hurd of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, part of the land which is today within the bounds of Monroe. The grant was named "Hurd's Location" and included five small islands in the Connecticut River, known as "Deer Islands", and a parcel of land from below the present Village Bridge to the foot of Fifteen Mile Falls.

In addition to Hurd's Location and the governor's , there were 23 lots of the 64 portions of Lyman located in "West Lyman", or the "Lyman Plain", now Monroe, making up less than of the present area. portion of Bath, to the south, was annexed in 1897. After appropriate consideration, it was named after President James Monroe. In 1860, Monroe had 619 residents. By 1880, the population had decreased to 504.

"Captain" Phillip Paddleford, a Revolutionary War soldier, settled in 1790, and built Monroe's first sawmill and gristmill on what is now called Smith Brook. Peter Paddleford (1785–1859) was the inventor of the wooden Paddleford Truss for covered bridges. Many of his original bridges still stand. He was the builder of the "third Lyman Bridge" from Monroe to McIndoes, Vermont, in 1833, after the 1826 floods had taken out all bridges on the Connecticut River. It was a covered bridge of pine, over long, and stood for over 96 years, making it one of the oldest on the river. and became the namesake of the "Comerford Suite". The dam, located on what was once called "Fifteen Mile Falls", is now used for flood control, irrigation and generation of electrical power for transmission to New England states. At the time of its construction, it was the largest "retaining wall" in the United States, representing more than of concrete.

As of the census of 2000, there were 759 people, 310 households, and 231 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 333 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.63% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 310 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.8% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males.

Median resident age: 43.9 years. Median house value: $98,700. 22% of Monroe residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,411, and the median income for a family was $46,346. Males had a median income of $35,125 versus $26,458 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,730. 1.6% of the population and 0.9% of families were below the poverty line. 0.0% of those under the age of 18 and 2.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Notable person

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  • Jean Harris (1923–2012), defendant in a high-profile murder case lived in Monroe

References

  • New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile