When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, the portion of Route 8 in the vicinity of Oxford became part of NY 12; however, the former routing of Route 8-a was not given a designation at this time. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the former routing of Route 8-a became part of NY 220, a new route extending from Smithville Flats to Oxford via McDonough. The entirety of NY 220 west of Oxford was closed to traffic in July 1935 as a result of damage caused by severe statewide flooding earlier in the month. The portion of the route from McDonough to Oxford took approximately three days to repair and was reopened by July 17. The remaining section from Smithville Flats from McDonough was reopened by the following year.