Monroe is known as “The Lake Region”.  Monroe also boosts home to the birthplace of Velveeta Cheese and the Museum Village.  The Museum Village is a cluster of historic buildings from the Monroe area.  Some of these buildings are original and some have been built just for the museum village.  The museum hosts many events such as field trips, a Civil War weekend, and Thanksgiving dinner and at Christmas time the special tree trimming. The museum also houses the largest Mastodon exhibit in New York State.

Inside the town of Monroe are the villages of Monroe, Harriman and Kiryas Joel. The village of Monroe has the same name as the town; this is for tax purposes only.  Kiryras Joel is a Hasidic Jewish community, which was established in the 20^th century.