Route 126 is a minor state highway in northwestern
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, running from
Route 63 in
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
to
U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, ...
in
North Canaan.
Route description
Route 126 begins as Point of Rocks Road splitting off to the west from
Route 63 in the Huntsville section of the town of
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
. Route 63 is signed for the village of South Canaan, while Route 126 heads directly for the town center in
Falls Village. In Falls Village, it intersects with
U.S. Route 7 and then proceeds to follow Main Street and Brewster Road through the village, then turns north along Sand Road. It follows the east bank of the
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
as it heads into the town of
North Canaan, crossing the Housatonic Valley Railroad tracks, then shifting to Belden Street. After crossing the town line, it ends after at an intersection with
U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, ...
in the southwest corner of North Canaan.
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]
History
The Huntsville to Falls Village section of modern Route 126 was originally the eastern half of the Salisbury and Canaan Turnpike, a private toll road that was chartered in October 1801. The turnpike ran along modern Route 126 from Route 63 to Falls Village, then it crossed the Housatonic River via Water Street and proceeded west through the town of Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
along Falls Mountain Road and Farnum Road (part of the alignment has been abandoned) into the village of Lakeville. From there, the turnpike used modern Route 44 to reach the village of Millerton, New York, where the road continued as the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike. This portion of Route 126 was also incorporated in the first state highway system established in 1922. The Huntsville to Falls Village section became the north end of State Highway 132 in the 1920s. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, old Highway 132 became Route 43 (later to become Route 63) except for the north end. Route 43 was aligned so that it went directly to South Canaan. The leftover portion heading into Falls Village became Route 126. By 1938, Route 126 was extended northward to its current end at US 44. No major changes has occurred since then.Connecticut Routes, Route 126
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Junction list
References
External links
{{Portal, Connecticut
Transportation in Litchfield County, Connecticut
126
North Canaan, Connecticut