The brick Italianate-style Monroe House was originally the home of General Giles W. Shurtleff, leader of the first African-American regiment from Ohio to serve in the American Civil War. The house became the longtime home of James Monroe and his wife, Julia Finney Monroe. He was an important abolitionist, advocate of voting rights for African-Americans, and friend of Frederick Douglass. Monroe taught at Oberlin College, served as a U.S. Consul to Brazil, and was a five-term U.S. Congressman. Mrs. Monroe was a daughter of Charles Grandison Finney, the great religious leader of Oberlin College.