Wethersfield's Broad Street Green was initially a poorly drained area unsuitable for building and was skirted on the east and west by Broad Street. Gradually, residences were constructed on either side of the street, the center area was used as a colonial militia training ground, and it eventually evolved into one of the most attractive greens in the state.

It -- and Wethersfield -- were threatened in the late 1920s when the State Department of Transportation routed a new Hartford-Middletown road through the green. The town united and hired a New York firm to suggest a different route. The result was the Silas Deane Highway. A few years later, the green was graded and landscaped in preparation for the Wethersfield Tricentennial in 1934.

The Broad Street Green is one of the most actively used greens in the state. Not only are annual celebrations held there, but it is used by residents as a place to walk, jog, ride bicycles, picnic, and play ball, as well as simply sit and rest.

The Broad Street green was low, unproductive land that evolved into a green by virtue of being laid out as part of an early road. Today, it is the focal point of a stately historic neighborhood and actively used for recreational purposes.