Post Roads

Post Roads became the thoroughfares that linked communities, states and our country together. They include the trails that were traversed over mountains and linked our coasts. They are just as important now as they were in the 18th century, although the methods of delivering mail have changed.

Post Roads have been around longer than America has existed. Many of these roads began as Indian trails. The word "mail" comes from Middle English. It meant bag. Then it meant the special bag that carried letters. Now it means something else. The word "post" comes from the Latin word postum which means stopping place. The name "Post Road" brings up the memory of the long awaited letter. So much of our correspondence now is sent with a click of a mouse.

In 1664, when the British took New Amsterdam, they brought with them their postal system. Originally established for transmitting government messages, the British Postal System only went public in 1635. In 1672, King Charles II ordered the New York and Connecticut governors to correspond with each other. They hired a "a stout fellow, active and indefatigable, and sworne as to his fidelity" to charge for post and other small portables. He would have a fixed route with river crossings and accommodations. He would also establish stages where fresh mounts could be obtained. He was to leave New York on the first of the month and return from Boston within a month. However, his task was daunting even to the hardiest soul. The first post rider found that the trail in the dead of winter once outside New York City and its suburbs was a small trail that, at times, had to be cleared. Early post riders had an axe with them to blaze the trail for future riders.

The post riders routes were soon disrupted. In 1673, the Dutch recaptured New York for a brief time. Then in 1676, King Phillip's War happened with pillaging along the Post Road throughout Massachusetts.

When Thomas Dongan became Governor of New York, he revived the postal system and fixed the cost at 3 pence for less than 100 miles ($3 at today's standards).

In 1691, the postal system was privatized. Thomas Neale of Philadelphia was granted exclusive rights to the postal system. Then, as now, people thought the service was over priced. The delivery was unpredictable and inefficient. However, it continued. The trails became paths and then wagon roads. Finally it became the major overland route between New England and New York.

In 1751, the old postal system was discarded when the Crown appointed Benjamin Franklin as a joint Postmaster, in charge of the postal system in the northern colonies. The two postmasters were to share what was left of 600 pounds after expenses were paid each year. Since the cost was determined at that time by how far a letter travelled, the biggest complaint from patrons seemed to be the distance travelled. Franklin used a special odometer (some say he invented it, some that he adapted it) affixed to his coach. For ten weeks he traversed all of the post roads. With each mile, a milepost was put in the ground and the miles from New York were written on it. Some of these markers still exist today.

Franklin also implemented a regular weekly schedule between Boston and Philadelphia. The mail wagon drove day and night. At night, lanterns were used to light the way. This cut delivery times in half. In 1761, Franklin remitted to London the first money ever earned by the American Post Office.

In New York, the milestones became a means of identifying locations and became an integral part of deeds, wedding announcements, even the location of taverns and other businesses. Many of the mileposts for the original post roads in New England and New York have been moved or are no longer part of the roadway, but they can be found adorning gardens and other areas and not lost completely.

SOME OF THE POST ROADS ARE: (If you have information about a post road, included or not, please email me with the information.)

Albany Post Road

Boston Post Road

White Plains Post Road