Boston Post Road is a historic road between Boston and New York City. It was the first mail route in America and is one of the oldest roads in Massachusetts. It later became a part of the King’s Highway, which is the oldest road in America.
The following is a timeline of the history of Boston Post Road:
Pre-Colonization:
- The road that later became Boston Post Road is first laid out as a Native American trail, known as the Pequot Path, from the Boston basin to the Connecticut River Valley.
1672:
- King Charles II sends a letter to Francis Lovelace, the royal governor of New York, requesting “his American subjects to enter into a close correspondency with each other.”
- On December 27, John Winthrop the Younger, governor of the Connecticut Colony, receives a letter from Francis Lovelace seeking his cooperation in setting up a mail service between Boston, Connecticut and New York.
1673:
- The Upper Post Road portion of Boston Post Road is first laid out on January 1, 1673.
- On January 22, the first post rider leaves New York and travels to Boston via Boston Post Road and then back again in that span of one month.
- In August, a Dutch naval squadron appears in New York Harbor during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The city surrenders and becomes a Dutch colony once again, which ends inter-colonial postal service to the city.
1674:
- In November, the Dutch return New York City to England as part of the Treaty of Westminster. Postal service to the city is reinstated.
1675:
- King Philip’s War breaks out in New England which temporarily ends postal service along Boston Post Road.
1676:
- King Philip’s War ends but postal service is not reinstated along Boston Post Road.
1685:
- Governor of the Province of New York, Thomas Dongan, reinstates postal service along Boston Post Road.
1704:
- In October, a 38-year-old widow and schoolmistress, Sarah Kemble Knight, travels the Boston Post Road alone from Boston to New York to conduct some business there.
1753:
- Stone markers are placed at mile points along Boston Post Road.
- By the early 18th century, the Boston Post Road consisted of three main routes: Upper Post Road, Lower Post Road, Middle Post Road.
1775-76:
- Between December and January, General Knox and his men drag a heavy cannon captured at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to Boston via Boston Post Road to assist in the Siege of Boston.
1783:
- The Boston Post Road is widened and smoothed and begins to carry America’s first long-distance stagecoach service from New York to Boston.
1789:
- In 1789, newly elected President George Washington makes a tour along the Boston Post Road from New York to Boston.
1830:
- By 1830, Boston Post Road is carrying as many as 40 stagecoaches a week.
1925:
- Two routes of the Boston Post Road, Upper Post Road and Lower Post Road, become U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 1.
1930:
- By 1930, Boston Post Road suffers from heavy traffic and gridlock. New roads, Hutchinson River Parkway through Westchester and and the Merritt Parkway through southern Connecticut, are constructed to help alleviate the congestion.
1983:
- On February 11, the portion of Boston Post Road in Weston, Mass is designated the Boston Post Road Historic District and is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources:
“Francis Lovelace Founds the Boston Post Road in 1673.” New England Historical Society, newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/francis-lovelace-founds-boston-post-road-1673/
“The Boston Post Road Historical Markers That Get The Facts Wrong.” New England Historical Society, newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/historical-markers-boston-post-road-wrong/
Jaffee, Eric. The King’s Best Highway: The Long History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America. Scribner, 2010
“Dragging cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, 1775.” Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/dragging-cannon-fort-ticonderoga-boston-1775
“Boston Post Road Historical Marker.” Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=18561
“Old Boston Road.” Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=32022
“Boston Post Road Historic District.” Westonma.gov, westonma.gov/633/Boston-Post-Road-Historic-District
“Boston Post Road Historic District.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=WSN.K
Motavalli, Jim. “The Boston Post Road: A Path Through History.” New York Times, 7 Sept. 2010, archive.nytimes.com/wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/the-boston-post-road-a-path-through-history/
“Boston Post Road Fact Sheet.” U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.