The hamlet of Port Kent and the connecting road were originally built in 1823. The village was planned to act as a source of labor for iron manufacturing and to provide for the industrial needs of Essex County. The hamlet grew and eventually became connected to Burlington, Vermont, via an hour-long ferry across Lake Champlain. The road that accessed Port Kent originally began in Keeseville, but became part of the longer Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike in the 1830s. The highway that is now NY 373 was also designated as part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway in 1919.
