Monroe Center Historic District is located in the highest section of the Town of Monroe. The topography is rugged and winding roads following natural contours radiate from the central green. The Monroe Center Historic District is centered about the Monroe Center Green, a triangular open space. Structural development is not dense, but rather the district is characterized by scattered buildings on large, informally landscaped grounds. Most buildings are located near roads and the land away from the roads is largely undeveloped. The Monroe Center Historic District includes the entire historic village center. Its southern boundary is clearly defined by State Route 110, a 20th century road. Other boundaries are determined by the last 18th or 19th century house which is within the area of today's village. Outside of the Monroe Center Historic District boundary are suburban housing developments erected on land which earlier had been open fields. [NR]

Architecture, Community Planning, Exploration/ Settlement, Military:The area which is now the Monroe Center Historic District was the nucleus of Monroe even before the town was established in 1823. Since 1764 when the New Stratford meetinghouse was erected on what is now the northern part of the green, this hamlet has been the governmental and residential center of the surrounding area. Between 1784 and 1823 it was one of the dual centers of the town of Huntington. The green on June 30, 1781, was the site of a locally important Revolutionary War event.The Monroe Center Historic District is important in urban history since it retains its 18th century New England town plan consisting of a central green and radiating irregularly laid out streets following natural contours. Architecturally the Monroe Center Historic District is significant since it has well-preserved vernacular buildings dating from about 1750 to the present. It has several Federal period buildings of architectural distinction. The two intrusive structures are hidden by landscape features and most 20th century buildings are restrained designs which are compatible with the earlier architecture. The Monroe Center Historic District has the ambiance of an undisturbed, pre-Civil War New England village. [NR]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.monroect.org/.
[2] Monroe Center Historic District, Report of Monroe Historic District Study Committee, , SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the website http://monroe.univers-clt.com/index.php?reset=true. [2]
[NR] Brown T. Robins, Monroe Center Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 77001392 NRIS, National Park Service, 1977 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/77001392.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/77001392.pdf.

The Monroe Center National Register Historic District's boundaries coincide with those of a locally legislated historic district except for the addition of a small parcel of land north of the house at 320 Wheeler Road. [The NRIS form also mentions that the National Register historic district includes the town hall-library while the local historic district does not. This information is not correct.]