When NY 68 was assigned in the mid-1920s, it extended only from US 11 in Canton to the intersection of State and Ford Streets (then-NY 3 and later NY 37) in Ogdensburg. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 68 was extended eastward through Canton to Colton, where it ended at NY 56. In the late 1950s, NY 37 was rerouted to bypass Ogdensburg to the south on a new alignment; however, NY 68 continued to extend past the arterial to Ford Street as late as 1969. By the following year, NY 68 was truncated to the intersection of Canton and State Streets, eliminating an overlap with NY 87. NY 68 was truncated again in the mid-1970s to end at its junction with NY 37 southeast of the city center.