New York State Route 168 (NY 168) is an east–west

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in southern

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...

, in the United States. The highway runs for through a largely rural area of

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

, from an intersection with

NY 28 New York State Route 28 (NY 28) is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major ro ...

in the village of

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

to a junction with

NY 80 New York State Route 80 (NY 80) is a west–east New York State Route located within Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Otsego, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties in New York. Its western terminus is located at a junction with NY&nb ...

in Stark. Along the way, it intersects one state highway and crosses multiple creeks. The route was originally designated as part of Route 5, an unsigned

legislative route In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by laws passed in a state legislature. The numbering of such highways may or may not correspond to the numbers familiar to the public as part of the state, ...

, in 1908 and as part of the signed

in 1924. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 28 was realigned to follow a new alignment to the west while its former routing between Mohawk and Paines Hollow became NY 168. The route was extended eastward to its current terminus at NY 80 .

Route description

NY 168 begins at a fork from

(Columbia Street) in the village of

. NY 168 immediately proceeds southward into the town of

German Flatts German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census. The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the village of Herkimer. T ...

, crossing through a small residential area as a two-lane roadway. Winding alongside Fulmer Creek, the route is going to pass through the dense wilderness of German Flatts, crossing past several residences hidden in the woods. NY 168 leaves the dense wilderness, winding southwest past Casey Road and crossing over Fulmer Creek several times. The route does not change scenery much in the first several miles, crossing an intersection with the northern terminus of Rock Hill Road ( unsigned County Route 135) in the Days Rock

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of the town of German Flatts. NY 168 bends eastward along Fulmer Creek, crossing through the mix of wilderness and residences. The route crosses through the hamlet of Edicks and an intersection with Heath Road. The route becomes much more residential through German Flatts, passing numerous residences and an intersection with Vrooman Road ( CR 68). After CR 68, NY 168 winds southeast alongside the creek once again. After another bend, now to the east, NY 168 enters the town of Little Falls and the hamlet of Paines Hollow, a small residential community where it intersects with NY 167. After NY 167, the route continues east through the town of Little Falls, bending southeast past multiple farms and into the town of Stark. In Stark, NY 168 crosses southeast into the hamlet of Deck, a residential hamlet near the junction with Upper Deck Road ( CR 189). After CR 189, NY 168 turns eastward along a rural two-lane road through Stark, soon intersecting with Travis Road ( CR 160). Paralleling several power lines, the route winds southeast through the dense wilderness of Stark, soon crossing several local farms. A short eastbound portion of NY 168 appears near the intersection with Fiery Hill Road ( CR 178), until turning southeast again at a fork from Lighthall Road ( CR 206). Continuing southeast, the dense wilderness returns until entering the hamlet of Starkville, where NY 168 intersects with

. This intersection serves as the eastern terminus of NY 168.

History

The highway connecting

to Paines Hollow was originally designated as part of Route 5, an unsigned

, by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

in 1908. It was improved to state highway standards by way of two separate projects assigned and completed during the 1910s. The first contract, awarded on September 30, 1915, covered the portion of the road from the Mohawk village line to the current intersection with NY 167 in Paines Hollow. The second contract, let on December 14, 1916, called for the improvement of the section of modern NY 168 within the village of Mohawk and what is now

between NY 168 and West Main Street (old NY 5S), a total distance of . Construction on the Mohawk–Paines Hollow segment cost about $127,000 (equivalent to $ in ), and required of pavement while the latter project cost $38,000 (equivalent to $ in ) to complete. The highway improved by the second project was added to the state highway system as State Highway 5631 (SH 5631) on May 3, 1918, and the Mohawk–Paines Hollow road was added as SH 5579 on May 31, 1919. When the first set of posted routes in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

were assigned in 1924, the section of legislative Route 5 between Mohawk and Paines Hollow became part of

. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 28 was realigned to use its modern alignment between

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

and Mohawk while its former routing from Mohawk to Paines Hollow was redesignated as NY 168. The route was extended eastward to

in Starkville .

Major intersections

References

External links

{{NYSR external links, type=N, nyroutes=yes, termini=yes, route=168 168 Transportation in Herkimer County, New York

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links