The Old Paugussett Route

Here are some old maps of the Paugussett Trail, known by some locals as simply the "Blue Dot Trail", which once stretched from Monroe to Stratford before it was cut off by subdivisions south of Indian Well State Park some time before 1971. The first map shown is from 1964.  The old trail is shown in the black dotted line, while a blue line has been added that represents the restored trail.

1964 Paugussett, with restored route in blue

The 1964 route headed west from Indian Well along Route 110 to Birdseye, crossed Saw Mill City Road somewhere near Means Brook Reservoir, then turned southeast and headed for what is now Aspetuck Village and the Huntington Woods subdivision.  The faded remnants of a blue blaze have been discovered on an old tree along Buddington Road where the trail crossed at the intersection with Old Town Road. At this point the old route and new route are converging. The two should meet when the new route is extended south of Buddington to the Old Kings Highway open space. That's as far as the trail can go for now unless we can get permission to cross private property. 

1946 route on a 2012 aerial

We also have a Paugussett map from 1946. The route is similar to 1964, though the trail was nudge over from time to time to when properties were developed.  The old route crossed through what are now the offices and commercial buildings between Commerce Drive and Bridgeport Ave, as well as Route 8, which did not exist in 1946. That's obviously not something we want to take the new version of the trail through. 

1946 map.  Remaining trail sections and new section are highlited in blue. 

Continuing south, the old trail crossed into Stratford and ended in Roosevelt Forest. There is still a blue blazed trail in Roosevelt Forest to this day which may be a remnant of the Paugussett Trail.  It may not be possible to reconnect the Paugussett Trail to Roosevelt Forest without extensive roadwalks, and at any rate that is something the Town of Stratford would need to be involved in. The most practical ultimate destination of the trail may be the Far Mill River.

Blowup of the 1946 map from Indian Well to Mill Street.

Old route shown on 2012 aerial.