Stroud Mansion

Colonel Stroud was the veteran of the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary Warwho in 1799 founded Stroudsburg in the foothills of the Pocono mountains. He had married Elizabeth McDowell (1743-1811) and built houses in the vicinity for each of their twelve children. By building the 12-room mansion for his eldest son, he had hoped that John would become his business partner in developing Stroudsburg. But, John wished for the quiet life of a farmer and moved to a farmhouse a mile outside the town that still stands today, known as Glen Brook, Stroudsburg.

In 1800, the Colonel's second son, Daniel Stroud (1772-1864), was brought back from his legal career at Philadelphia to take his place at the mansion and help his father in the running of the family businesses. In 1810, working towards the aim of incorporating the town, Daniel - who became a Quaker - sold further plots of the family land and five years later Stroudsburg was officially chartered as a borough.

Daniel was the father of seven children and though the house remained in their ownership, it became less of a family home and more part of the community. In 1837, a tavern was installed on the ground floor and leased by the Strouds to several different keepers up until the 1850s, when it became a hotel. It also served as the meeting place for several community groups, including the local chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution. In 1920, the house was purchased by the Stroudsburg Civic Club, which incorporated the building as the Stroud Community House in 1922.

In 1994, the Monroe County Historical Association received control of Stroud Mansion from the trustees, and since then it has remained as the Monroe County Historical Society Museum. Today it houses historical artefacts and colonial furniture, including the marble-topped Hunt Breakfast table that had belonged to Daniel Stroud. There is a colonial-era kitchen in the cellar and a Victorian parlor. The Stroud Mansion also houses the Elizabeth D. Walters Library, which has an extensive and unique collection of genealogical materials and local history resources.