Burroughs named Orange County’s ‘Historian of the Year’

MONROE — Linda Burroughs believes it’s important to understand history, not to just have an appreciation of what happened in older times, but to have a perspective on the area’s culture and to learn from the mistakes of the past.
As the volunteer historian for the Village of Monroe, she has the responsibility of collecting, archiving and maintaining anything that has to do with the village’s past and its people, so residents and interested parties have a feel for what came before them.
“We don’t have a lot of information, as the village didn’t come into existence until 1898,” said Burroughs. “Before that it was part of the town. But, we don’t limit ourselves to 1898, we go back to when the first settlers were here starting in 1730 or 1740.”
It’s an interesting job, she said, noting her mother was the Town of Monroe’s historian during the 1960s. She took over the position held by the late Charles King a bit over two years ago.
“I did grow up with a good foundation in history,” said Burroughs. “My family has always been involved with family research and knowing where your people came from and what they did. I grew up in cemeteries. I learned to add and subtract in cemeteries.”
Even so, it was more than a surprise for Burroughs to learn she was named the Orange County “Historian of the Year,” the first time the county made such a recognition.
“It came as a very complete surprise because I can think of a lot more people who have done a lot more than I have,” said Burroughs. “It’s a very big honor. It certainly is a validation of my work. This is an unpaid job. That’s (validation) the only reward that you get.”

A potential ‘jewel’

Burroughs’ office is in the “Smith House,” located on the corner of Stage Road and Route 17M. The house is believed to be one of the oldest standing structures in Monroe and built possibly as early as 1741.
Also known as “The Little Yellow House,” one of Burroughs’ eventual projects is to properly restore the home so it could become a local museum open to the public.
“That’s one of the few pre-Revolutionary War houses we have right here,” said Burroughs. “Currently, it belongs to the village but takes a lot of upkeep. I need a new roof.”
Estimates for the work are in the $8,000 range, and she already has $1,000 from the county historian for the roof work.
“I don’t have it (the house) open (to the public),” she added. “When people come, they tend to come in larger groups. It’s difficult to have too many people in there at one time. What do you do first? Get a roof and electrical work done and then I can go there (public visits).”
Burroughs has hopes for a complete renovation someday.
“It really is a potential ‘jewel’ of Monroe, but there’s no immediate plans for a restoration, with the way funds are now, it’d be difficult to get money,” she said. “I think if we had $20,000 we could make it in really good shape. Of course, I wouldn’t limit it to that amount.”
And Burroughs is always looking for people to supply her with documents and photos of anything that has to do with the village. At some point, those bits of paper may have some historical significance.
Burroughs used last year’s hurricane and the resulting floods as an example, saying she’d be happy to get copies of residents’ photos showing the damage to archive.
“People don’t stop and think about what the history was or what happened in the area,” she said. “They don’t always think about what the results will be later on. I think our flooding (from the storms) is an example of that. When we had farms here, people knew their cows got stuck in fields when it was rainy, but they don’t think about what happens to their cars and homes today because they don’t realize those things happened in the same spot.”
She added: “Yes, this was a 100-year flood. But we’ve had really bad hurricanes before. When this happened there were two (storms) on top of each other.”

People make the difference

Based on the historical record, Burroughs knows the Village of Monroe played a significant role in the area’s and the nation’s growth and development.
“We’ve contributed a lot in making Orange County great,” she said. “In the early days, we supplied food, recreation and an escape from the city. That part really hasn’t changed that much, but that was the beginning of our area.”
But more importantly, it was the people who made a difference.
“I think we’re kind of an anchor because we’ve been here so long,” she said. “Names have changed, the name of the town has changed, but the village name has never changed. We’ve been here and we’ve had men involved in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the War of 1812 the Mexican-American War, and all the recent conflicts we’ve been in. All you have to do is look in our cemeteries after Memorial Day and you’ll see the flags.”
Buildings come and go, Burroughs noted, but it was the decisions and actions of the residents of yesterday that helped shape today.
“Tomorrow’s history could be of anybody living here now,” Burroughs added. “You can’t have history without people.”

- Nancy Kriz



Did you know?

During the Revolutionary War, Washington’s troops camped just north of Orange Turnpike and their horses were watered in that stream that just south of the dam along Route 17M.
A mastodon was discovered in the Millpond in the 1930s near the Monroe Free Library, one of many found in the Orange County area.
There used to be seven to eight daily trains traveling roundtrip from New York City, bringing produce to the city.
The Village of Monroe was named to honor President James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president. His wife Elizabeth came from the Southfields area.
The village was incorporated in 1898 because of the need for a water supply. When a fire leveled most of the village, officials decided to incorporate so there could be village water supply established rather than have a reliance on individual wells.

Source: Village of Monroe Historian Linda Burroughs