At exactly 1/10 its route number in miles (a coincidence), Route 201 has a good length for an afternoon's exploration of southeastern Connecticut's backroads.
Updated Aug 10, 2026
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At exactly 1/10 its route number in miles (a coincidence), Route 201 has a good length for an afternoon's exploration of southeastern Connecticut's backroads.
The first Route 201, commissioned in 1932, was a 4.45-mile route along the "stairstep" portion of Route 97 between present-day US 44 at Abington and US 44/Route 169 in Pomfret. In 1934 this became part of Route 97.
Two parts of modern-day Route 201 were added to the state highway system in 1932, both unsigned:
In 1934, SR 663 became Route 201, a short highway entirely within Griswold. It remained this way for 29 years.
In 1935, SR 668 became part of Route 119.
In 1939, Cassaduck Hill Road, from Route 2 in North Stonington to the Griswold town line, was added as SR 431.
In 1960, the state Committee to Reclassify All Public Roads recommended extending a 20-mile secondary state highway from Stonington to Jewett City in Griswold, incorporating parts of Route 119, SR 431, and existing Route 201. Two parts of this route in Griswold were not state-maintained; neither was Mains Crossing Road, a connector from Route 119 to Route 2 in North Stonington.
In 1962, Mains Crossing Road was added to the state system as SR 629.
On March 29, 1963, Route 201's length increased 800%, taking over Route 119, SR 629, SR 431, and the locally-maintained sections of Glasgo Road and Hopeville Road to Route 12 in Jewett City.
About 6,000 feet of Route 201 in Griswold, from Monroe Road to I-395, was being straightened and widened in a state project that was scheduled to complete in Spring 2003. Tilting Rock, a large boulder near the road that is a local landmark, would be relocated to nearby property. Preliminary plans were to destroy the rock, about 10 feet in size, by explosives or chemicals, but residents persuaded the state to move the rock instead.
In a way similar to Route 164, Route 201 is a popular backroad to get to Foxwoods Casino from I-395. In response to several accidents and some fatalities at the intersection with Route 138, the state installed a traffic light there in February 2004.
North of Route 165, small sections of Glasgo Road and Jarvis Road (as well as power lines along the old alignment) hint at an old alignment of Glasgo Road east of the current road.
There are a few related documents I haven't found yet:
"Route 201 winds through southeastern Connecticut like a stream, and wears as many facades as a chamelon. So diverse is its personality that it makes for a wonderful Sunday drive or a paradise for a serious or not-so-serious hiker."