Many local residents own or have visited homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but nearly all have ridden on a 37-mile treasure from the list: The Merritt Parkway.

On Sunday, January 6, from 2 to 4 pm, Newtown Historical Society will host “The Merritt Parkway: History and Future of A National Treasure.”

The program, to be presented by Wes Haynes, will be co-sponsored by and presented in the meeting room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

The Merritt was begun during the Depression building boom and served to both improve the traffic flow through southern Connecticut and to give the state’s suffering economy a boost.

It turned out to be no ordinary infrastructure building project, however, with its emphasis on offering a scenic route on what was then a wide road. The signage for the road was uniquely rustic, and each overpass on the highway had its own unique Art Deco design.

Naturally, the highway was hit by overruns on its budget, but the state persevered over six years of construction, and the highway opened to the public in 1940. The road was such an inviting change from traditional roads going through urban areas that it was not unusual for early travelers to pull off for a picnic lunch on the side of the highway while at the same time feeling like they were out in the country. A bridle path was even planned to parallel the highway, though that idea was later abandoned.

Wes Haynes is executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a nonprofit organization committed to the protection and stewardship of Connecticut’s largest and most heavily used cultural resource. He has worked for several preservation groups and government projects, including restoration of New York City’s Central Park. He recently completed a survey of historic mills for Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, a statewide inventory of 1,500 historic industrial properties. He has also taught preservation courses at Parsons School of Design and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Please note this is a daytime program to accommodate daylight driving.

Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

For further information, contact the historical society at 203-426-5937 or visit newtownhistory.org.