Skip to main content

Merritt Parkway Tollbooth at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford, Connecticut

Among the eclectic mix of buildings and other structures at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford, Connecticut is the last remaining tollbooth from when the Merritt Parkway was tolled between the years 1940 and 1988. It is said that the tollbooth at Boothe Memorial Park is from across the Housatonic River in nearby Milford, Connecticut, and then when tolls were discontinued on the Merritt Parkway, the tollbooth was brought to Stratford to live its retirement among the clock tower, the supposed oldest homestead in America and other unique things that have been found its way onto the 32 acres of property once owned by brothers David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe. This is just a stone's throw away from the Merritt Parkway, so the tollbooth did not venture that far.

As for the tollbooth itself, it is the last remnant of the era of the Merritt Parkway when tolls were collected. There were tollbooths located in Greenwich, Milford and Wallingford, although Wallingford is on the Wilbur Cross Parkway, which the Merritt Parkway becomes east of Milford. They were designed by George Dunkelberger, who also designed the bridges of the Merritt Parkway. The tollbooths have a rustic feel to them, since after all, a parkway was originally meant to convey a park-like experience. It is certainly nice that this little piece of Connecticut history has been preserved for all to enjoy.







How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
Boothe Memorial Park and Museum - CTMQ
Stratford's Best Kept Secret - New Haven Register
Boothe Memorial Park, Stratford - Damned Connecticut

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...