In the 1920s, State Highway 102 followed today's Route 85 from Colchester to New London.

The modern Route 102 was commissioned in 1932, from the 1920s SH 329. It originally extended to the New York state line along Catoonah Street, High Ridge Avenue, Barry Road, and West Mountain Road, for a length of 7.54 miles. The road was straightened in Branchville in 1958, resulting in a length of 7.48 miles.

The 1962 route reclassification called for the section west of Route 35 to be returned to the town; however, that remained under arbitration into the 1970s. The Route 102 designation of that section was dropped on March 1, 1979 and renumbered secret route SR 822: still under state maintenance, but no longer signposted.

• State Highway Log, 1978.
• Route Change Notice, ConnDOT, Jan. 31, 1979.
• Sanders, Jack and Sally. "Ridgefield (CT) Time Line 1900s." Web site, http://www.acorn-online.com/timeline1900.htm.

Route 102 Ends (Photos; Doug Kerr at state-ends.com)