Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike - History

History

The idea of constructing a highway leading southward from St. Lawrence County was first conceived as early as the beginning of the 19th century. Several different roadways were built; however, all ultimately fell into disuse after several years. On April 16, 1827, a team of three surveyors were commissioned to determine a routing for a new highway leading from Hopkinton, a town in northeastern St. Lawrence County, to Lake Champlain. The surveying and leveling took 26 days and was completed by late October of that year. Contemporary newspapers claimed that the chosen route avoided all "hills of any magnitude".

On April 18, 1829, the New York State Legislature passed an act that allowed construction to begin on the highway, which was to begin at Hopkinton and end at Port Kent on the western shore of Lake Champlain. As part of the act, the state of New York allocated $25,836 (equivalent to $557,008 in 2013) toward the construction of the road and levied a tax on all land located within three miles of the proposed route, which would raise an additional $12,500 (equivalent to $269,492 in 2013) for the project. Construction began later that year and was completed in 1832. The 75-mile (121 km) highway opened in 1833 as a toll road named the Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike.

Under the original text of the 1829 act, only one toll gate was permitted on the turnpike. On January 16, 1835, the commissioners of the Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike filed a petition in the New York State Senate requesting that the turnpike be allowed to replace the one toll gate with two "half toll gates"; that is, two toll gates charging half of the normal amount of toll. The original toll gate was placed near the midpoint of the turnpike; however, the commissioners indicated that most of the traffic used only small portions of the highway near each end, resulting in a loss of toll revenue. Thus, the commissioners desired to place two half toll gates closer to the endpoints of the route.

A bill was introduced in the State Senate shortly afterward that, if passed, would allow the turnpike to have two half toll gates. It was passed by the Senate on January 20, 1835, and by the New York State Assembly on February 2, 1835. The bill was signed into law by Governor William L. Marcy on February 4, 1835. Ultimately, the change in toll gate locations did little to improve the financial standing of the turnpike. On March 30, 1838, a law went into effect that stipulated that maintenance of the Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike would be transferred to the towns it ran within and that the roadway would be maintained using public highway funds, effectively dissolving the toll road.

Portions of the former turnpike were later acquired by the state of New York and added to the state highway system. By 1930, the portion from Au Sable Forks to Ausable Chasm had a route number; two more sections—Duane (at Duane Center) to Franklin (Merrillsville) and Ausable Chasm to Port Kent—gained a designation as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Of the four designations that occupied parts of the turnpike's former routing in 1930—US 9, NY 9N, NY 99, and NY 373—three still exist today. NY 99 was removed in 1994.