Route 44 began as the Indian’s Northwest Path and during the French and Indian War became the Hartford to Albany Road for moving troops and equipment. In 1984, it became the Albany Turnpike, a toll road. The 1776 House was an old home converted into a tea room on the site of the present-day dry cleaners at the corner of Route 44 and Lovely Street around 1950. Cherry Park, located partially in Avon and Canton off Lovely Street, began as an agricultural fairground, then became a trotter racing course, and finally a midget auto race track around 1900 before closing in the 1950s. The Mills/Everest House, built in 1796 on the corner of Route 44 and Lawton Road, was demolished in the early 2000s for commercial development and was taken down and carefully reassembled at another location in Connecticut in 2001. The Canton Show Shop stood directly behind the 1776 House on Lovely Street around 1950, and its barn still stands although another business now occupies the site.