A Connecticut Road Trip | Route 169

ROAD SIGNS, ROUTE 169

If you, like me, occasionally open the Twitter app and scroll a bit before becoming despondent at the state of the world and quickly opening Instagram to stare at photos of kittens instead, you may have become dimly aware of a recent WalletHub article titled 2015's Best and Worst States for Summer Road Trips.

The piece, which enjoyed a flurry of  re-tweets and was cited in a bunch of local news reports, ranks US states from 1 to 50 for their supposed road-trip-ability. It is hilarious, as you might expect from travel advice dispensed by a personal finance writer. But the part that particularly amused me was the (entirely expected and entirely inaccurate) assertion that of all the 50 states, Connecticut is the worst for exploring by car.

To refute that silly claim (not that it needs to be refuted), I thought I'd write a little post about one of my favorite Connecticut drives, Route 169. This National Scenic Byway is only 32 miles long, but it winds through some of the prettiest of the state's countryside - an area the Federal Highway Administration calls "one of the last unspoiled areas in the northeastern United States."

As you travel from Lisbon to Woodstock, you will see: centuries-old stone walls crossing green fields that rise and dip like waves; Colonial-era houses and red barns; time-worn headstones in historic cemeteries; horses grazing behind wooden fences; agricultural fairgrounds; antique stores filled with tempting odds and ends; farms and farm stands offering fresh eggs, honey, vegetables, fruit, flowers, and maple syrup; small towns barely changed from when they were settled in the 17th century, except for the addition of cute coffee shops and highly acclaimed restaurants; local museums, historical societies, and carefully preserved buildings; and, of course, that two-lane road, stretching out ahead of you like an invitation.

You can see much more than that, of course; it only depends on how much time you have. Plus, there's no rule that says you have to stay on 169. Turn off on any of the other numbered routes you encounter, and you'll find even more sights to make you LOL at the idea that anyone thinks Connecticut is not road-trip worthy.

AMERICANA, ROUTE 169

SCRANTON'S SHOPS, WOODSTOCK

TYPICAL QUIET CORNER VIEW, POMFRET

CEMETERY, LISBON

ROAD SIGN, CANTERBURY

SILO, POMFRET

OLD GAS STATION, BROOKLYN

LAPSLEY ORCHARDS, POMFRET

ANTIQUE STORE, BROOKLYN

ROADSIDE FLOWERS, POMFRET

COW, WOODSTOCK (THERE ARE REAL COWS TO BE SEEN TOO)

GRANGE HALL, WOODSTOCK

ROAD SIGN, WOODSTOCK

OLD POST OFFICE, WOODSTOCK

If you want more about Route 169, here are some additional resources:

A map of the route from byways.org.

A partial list of attractions from Mystic Country.

An itinerary (fall foliage themed) from ctvisit.com. 

A recommendation from Yankee Magazine.

Some history from kurumi.com. 

And here are some earlier Size of Connecticut posts about just a fraction of what you can see and do along the way:

Historic Synagogue, Lisbon.

Prudence Crandall Museum, Canterbury.

Town Center, Brooklyn.

Putnam Elms and Old Trinity Church, Brooklyn.

Pomfret Station, Pomfret.

Abington Social Library, Pomfret.

Three historic libraries, Woodstock.

Roseland Cottage, Woodstock.

Mrs. Bridge's Pantry, Woodstock.

One-room schoolhouse, Woodstock.

Woodstock Fair, Woodstock.

If you want to add something else on to a drive on Route 169, consider these two former mill towns: Norwich, at the southern end, has museums, parks, and an eclectic city feel, and Putnam, at the northern end, has shopping, dining, and a classic small-town atmosphere.

Taftville

Taftville was/is/will be a late 1800's mill village and a neighborhood of Norwich. The Taftville Mill, later called Ponemah Mill, produced cotton textiles. The mill and the village built up around it - a row of stores, a church, a school, a collection of not particularly eye-catching houses where the workers, first Irish then French Canadian, lived - hang suspended between past and present and future.

There are people in the houses and stores in the storefronts - well, some of them. There are cars in the parking spaces and flea markets in the vast mill buildings, which are set to be converted into "luxury apartments." You can walk a block along a Taftville street that slopes down towards the Shetucket and feel, within the space of that minute, that you are in a ghost town, an average slightly depressed neighborhood, and a soon to be mini-Mecca of yuppie-dom.

It's hard to tell which will prevail, I'll say one thing. I took these photos in color, but when I looked at them, they didn't accurately represent what I'd pointed the camera at. It was only when I turned them sepia that I recognized the place I'd just been.