New York State Route 812 - History

History

In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, what is now NY 812 between Lowville and Croghan became the southern leg of NY 26A, an alternate route of NY 26 between Lowville and Carthage. Farther north, the portion of modern NY 812 between De Kalb and Ogdensburg became part of NY 87, a route extending from Harrisville to Ogdensburg via Edwards, Russell and De Kalb. From Harrisville to Fowler, NY 87 followed a parallel alignment to modern NY 812 along Hands Flats, Stone, and Pitcairn roads, and CR 24. Between Fowler and De Kalb, NY 87 used what is now NY 58, CR 24, and CR 17 before following current NY 812 north to Ogdensburg. The portion of NY 87 between De Kalb Junction and De Kalb was concurrent with US 11. Both US 11 and NY 87 were shifted south onto a new highway c. 1936, at which time the former routing of US 11 between the new road and De Kalb became part of NY 87.

NY 87 was gradually truncated northward over time. The first change to the route's southern end came in the early 1940s when it was moved northeastward to the eastern terminus of its former overlap with NY 58 in Edwards. It was moved once more, this time to what was the west end of its overlap with US 11 in De Kalb, in the early 1970s. In 1975, officials from New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Region 7 proposed eliminating NY 87 in favor of NY 812, a new route that would extend from Lowville to Ogdensburg via Croghan, Harrisville, Gouverneur, and De Kalb. The designation would also supplant NY 26A south of Croghan. The proposed route was part of a larger plan to connect the Delaware River at Deposit to the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River by way of as few numbered routes as possible. All of the suggested changes were implemented in the late 1970s.

When NY 812 was first assigned, it was locally maintained from NY 126 in Croghan to NY 3 in Diana and from NY 3 in Pitcairn to NY 58 in Fowler. The section of the route between NY 126 and the Croghan village line was maintained by the village of Croghan; however, the rest of the two locally-maintained sections were maintained by Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Most of the Lewis County-owned section was co-designated as CR 11; however, the short piece between the Croghan village line and Belfort Road was part of CR 10. In St. Lawrence County, NY 812 was overlaid on the existing CR 73 from NY 3 to Stone Road, CR 99 between Stone Road and Balmat, and CR 56 from Balmat to Fowler. The state of New York assumed ownership and maintenance of NY 812 between Croghan and Diana on April 1, 1980, as part of a highway maintenance swap between the state and Lewis County that transferred NY 194 to the county. Ownership of NY 812 from Pitcairn to Fowler was transferred to the state on September 1, 1982, as part of a highway maintenance swap between the state and St. Lawrence County.