Monroe County Historical Association

HISTORY OF THE MANSION

The 12-room house, an imposing structure for its time, was built in 1795 by Jacob Stroud, founder of Stroudsburg and a Revolutionary War colonel, as a home for John, his eldest son, John Stroud lived here for only a few years before moving to another home outside of town. Jacob Stroud's next oldest son, Daniel, moved in next and lived here with his wife and family for years.

The property remained in the Stroud family until 1893, and has served as a family home, boarding house, store and the town library. Since 1921, it has been home to the Monroe County Historical Association. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and features such classical details as a symmetrical facade, flat-arch window lintels with pronounced keystones, simulated stone walls and quoins that accentuate the corners, plus tooth-like dentils beneath the cornice.

The Stroud Mansion museum offers four floors of exhibit space highlighting the history of Monroe County. [Note: Only the first floor is open to visitors by guided tour during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.] Permanent exhibits include artifacts that span local history, from the time of the native Americans to present day. Specialized collections and exhibits rotate throughout the year, focusing on the social, cultural, political and economic life of Monroe County.

Featured rooms include an authentic Colonial-era cellar kitchen, the early 18th Century Stroud Room, and a Victorian parlor, as well as a tool and weapons room, antique toy room and a textile collection.

Portraits displayed throughout the building include figures of local and national interest.

The Stroud Mansion also houses the Elizabeth D. Walters Library, which has an extensive and unique collection of genealogical materials and local history resources. The library includes family files, census reports, church records, cemetery listings, newspaper clippings and more. Maps, indentures, family Bibles and other primary documents are also available to researchers.