Our museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Come visit us at 207 East Main Street
Started in 1864 by Henry McClurg as the settlement of Park Place, Monroe experienced rapid growth in the early 1900s due to its rich farmlands and abundant timber, and its proximity to the Great Northern Railroad. Monroe is scenically set against the foothills of the Cascade Range, near where the Snoqualmie and Skykomish Rivers join to form the Snohomish.
Archives available online Many of the Historical Society’s archives are now available to view online at monroehistoricalarchives.org. These include yearbooks, historical photos and links to historical maps and newspapers.
Lee Orr Exhibit In recognition of the upcoming Summer Olympics the museum has a new exhibit about local Olympic athlete Lee Orr, once considered one of the fastest men in the world. A graduate of Monroe High School, Lee set track records that held for many years. Having been born in Canada, he ran for that country in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, in which Lee ran against his friend, Jesse Owens. A modest man, Lee Orr lived his later years just outside of Monroe and would only reluctantly talk about his running career.
It’s a sign! After many years of watching our old museum sign deteriorate and hoping a new one would take its place we finally have a wonderful new sign gracing Old City Hall. The mounting bracket is topped by a metal cutout showing a steam locomotive and a load of logs. This attractive addition is thanks to a generous grant from the city of Monroe and the work of Pablo Guerrero of Amigo Arts in Monroe. Come by and take a closer look, and a big ‘thank you’ to all who made it possible. The city has promised to at least trim back the trees this fall which, as much as we like foliage, have begun to make building fronts hard to see.
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Now you can donate to Monroe Historical Society simply by shopping! Fred Meyer stores donate a portion of the money you spend to a non-profit of your choice. Simply go to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards and link your rewards card to Monroe Historical Society – you can link by name or by our non-profit number [85404]. You still earn your rewards points, fuel points, and rebates. You can also sign up at the customer service desk.
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Currently at the museum:
The upright Hamilton piano that once provided music at the silent movie theaters of Monroe was installed at the museum in October. Nellie Johnson Blakeslee (photo on left side of piano) played the piano at various venues in town for many years. Recently tuned, it sounds beautiful!