Monroe Historical Archives
Resources
Available, with some restrictions, to members and to the public.
Visit Us
207 East Main Street
Monroe, Washington
Hours: 12 - 3 pm
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
Maps
Use our mapping system to compare everything from homestead lines to modern aerial photographs!
Newspaper Archives
The Monroe Monitor searchable archives from 1899 to 1979.
The Monroe Historical Society maintains a variety of local history resources including an almost complete collection of the local newspaper, The Monroe Monitor, an extensive collection of Historical Photographs, a large collection of oral history tapes, as well as files, books, and documents on Monroe-area history and families. These are available, with some restrictions, to members and to the public at the Monroe Historical Museum.

Education
The Monroe Historical Society offers a variety of educational experiences for students and teachers. Each year we host field trips for local schools to our museum. The educational program includes a walking tour of historic Main Street, a hands-on activity room and a tour of the museum. Students dress up in period costumes and experience a typical day of a pioneer child with chore time, play time and school. The museum tour features a peek inside the original 1908 jail cell; always a hit with students! Our volunteers also visit classrooms to give presentations on local history and assist students who may come to the museum for various history projects and research.

Walking Tour
Take a stroll down Main Street and imagine the bustling Carnation Condensery with the smokestack billowing steam while a Great Northern Railway train passes through town loaded with cedar shakes and lumber. The Monroe Historical Society’s Self-Guided Historic Walking Tour booklet will take you on a journey back in time as you walk from Railroad Avenue to South Madison Street. Follow the guide as it takes you to specific locations where you can compare historic photos to the modern view of Main Street. The free booklet is available in the museum or click on this link below to download and print your own copy.
Links of Interest
- Monroe history on HistoryLink.org
- Monroe IOOF Cemetery on FindAGrave.com
- Reformatory Cemetery on FindAGrave.com
- Monroe Monitor Archives
- Snohomish County Women’s Legacy Project
- Sky Valley Stock and Antique Tractor Club
- Early Monroe Family Trees
- 1910 Snohomish County plat map
- 100 years of Snohomish County maps
- Snohomish County historic site inventory