Home of the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University.

1. The first settler of Monroe was James Johnstone of Ochiltree, Scotland in 1685. He came to what was then called East Jersey after being offered 50 acres of land and 25 additional acres for each family member that came with him.
2. Monroe Township was incorporated as a municipality on February 23, 1838. It was named after the 5th President of the United States James Monroe.
3. In 1847, Harrison W. Crosby of Jamesburg became the first person to successfully can tomatoes commercially. Once his process was perfected he sent canned Jersey tomatoes to notable figures such as President James K. Polk and Queen Victoria of England.
4. Jamesburg was named after James Buckelew. In 1847, when the Monroe School System refused to admit an African American boy, Buckelew built a schoolhouse of his own, declaring it open to all children. The school was referred to as “James B.” school, or “Jamesburg” school.
5. Chartered in 1746, the College of New Jersey, now called Princeton University, is the 4th oldest college in the United States.