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Mileposts were measured from the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in New York (one block west of Federal Hall ) and from the old Boston border on Washington Street near the Massachusetts Turnpike . The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Route 1 along the shore and through Providence, Rhode Island ), the Upper Post Road (now US 5 and US 20 from New Haven, Connecticut via Springfield, Massachusetts ), and the Middle Post Road (which split from the Upper Road in Hartford, Connecticut , and ran diagonally to Boston via Pomfret, Connecticut ). In some towns, the area near the Boston Post Road has been placed on the National Register Of Historic Places , since it was often the first road in the area, and buildings sprung up along it. The Boston Post Road Historic District, Including Part Of The Road In Rye, New York has been designated a National Historic Landmark. ]] The Post Road is also famous for its Milestone s from the 18th century, some installed as late as the time of Benjamin Franklin and many remaining to this day. NEW YORK Manhattan Much of the route in , 2006 The following sections of the road still exist:
These Milestone s were once present in Manhattan:
The Bronx In southwestern Westchester County, now The Bronx , the Boston Post Road came off the Kings Bridge and quickly turned east, with the Albany Post Road continuing north to Albany, New York . It passed over the Bronx River on the Williams Bridge , and left The Bronx on Bussing Avenue, becoming Kingsbridge Road in Westchester County . In more detail, it used the following roads:
Westchester County The Boston Post Road entered the modern Westchester County on Kingsbridge Road, and turned north on Third Avenue-Columbus Avenue ( Route 22 ), forking off onto Colonial Place. It continued across Sandford Boulevard (Sixth Street) where there is no longer a road, and curved east and southeast around the hill, hitting Sandford Boulevard-Colonial Avenue at the Hutchinson River Parkway interchange. It then continued east on Colonial Avenue-Kings Highway, merging with U.S. Route 1 . From there to the Connecticut border, the Post Road used US 1, except for several places, where Post Road used the following roads:
UPPER POST ROAD The Upper Post Road was the most traveled of the three routes, being the furthest from the shore and thus having the fewest and shortest river crossings. It was also considered to have the best Tavern s, which helped it remain the most popular. The Upper Post Road roughly corresponds to the alignment of U.S. Route 5 from New Haven, Connecticut , to Hartford ; Connecticut Route 159 from Hartford to Springfield, Massachusetts ; U.S. Route 20 from Springfield to Warren (via Route 67 ); Massachusetts Route 9 from Warren through Worcester to Shrewsbury ; and U.S. Route 20 from Shrewsbury to Boston. Connecticut ; New Haven ; Wallingford ; Berlin ; Wethersfield ; Hartford ; Windsor ; Suffield Massachusetts ; Agawam ; Springfield ; Palmer ; Warren ; Brookfield ; Leicester ; Worcester ; Shrewsbury ; Marlborough ; Sudbury ; Waltham ; Watertown ; Cambridge ; Brookline ; Roxbury ; Boston LOWER POST ROAD The Lower Post Road stayed near Long Island Sound into Rhode Island , and then turned north through Providence to Boston. This is now the best-known of the routes, though newer Turnpike alignments are often known as the Boston Post Road. The Lower Post Road roughly corresponds to the original alignment of U.S. Route 1 in eastern Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Connecticut ; Stamford ; Norwalk ; Bridgeport ; Milford ; New Haven ; Old Saybrook ; New London Rhode Island ; Kingston ; Providence Massachusetts In . ; South Attleboro The Post Road entered Massachusetts into the town of Attleboro along Newport Avenue ( Route 1A ) through the settlement of South Attleboro. It continued northeast on Newport Avenue along Route 123 , splitting to the north (staying with Newport Avenue) to cross into North Attleborough. ; North Attleborough South of North Attleborough center, the old road is known as Old Post Road. The old road crossed the turnpike (now US 1 ) just south of the intersection with Route 120 , forming a small curve before merging with the turnpike north of the intersection. This curved alignment is now gone, so traffic must use US 1. Additionally, US 1 leaves the turnpike at the Route 120 intersection to bypass North Attleborough center on East Washington Street . The Lower Post Road passed through North Attleborough Center on Washington Street , later used as part of the turnpike. Another short curved alignment still exists to the west of Washington Street north of the center. Just north of this, the route crosses the Ten Mile River and then enters a complicated five-way intersection with US 1 and Route 1A . US 1 straight ahead is the old turnpike, and US 1 to the right was built in the 1930s. The Post Road went to the right onto Elmwood Street. The fork to the left onto Route 1A through Plainville center was an alternate route to Boston. Elmwood Street enters the town of Plainville , where it becomes Messenger Street. The road merges with Route 106 before crossing Route 152 at Wilkins Four Corners and entering Foxborough . There is a road passing from the town of Sharon into East Walpole which is known as Old Post Road, which continues north as Pleasant Street into Norwood . {Link without Title} ; Sharon ; East Walpole (part of Walpole ) ; Norwood ; Islington (part of Westwood ) ; Dedham ; Roxbury ; Boston MIDDLE POST ROAD The Middle Post Road was the shortest and fastest route, but was less populated and thus less traveled. It split from the Upper Post Road in Hartford roughly along current U.S. Route 44 and Route 31 to Willimantic (this was the original alignment of U.S. Route 6 ). It continues northeast along Route 66 and U.S. Route 6 , then along Route 198 and Route 244 to Pomfret . From Pomfret, it headed into Massachusetts via the town of Thompson , along Thompson Road. In Massachusetts, the Middle Post Road runs along sections of modern Route 16 to Mendon , then through Bellingham , and then via Route 109 from Medway to Dedham where it meets with the Lower Post Road (old U.S. Route 1) heading into Boston. Connecticut ; Hartford ; Manchester ; Bolton ; Coventry ; Willimantic ; Phoenixville ; Pomfret ; Putnam ; Thompson Massachusetts ; Douglas Crosses the MA state line into the town of Douglas as Southwest Main Street. This section passes through Douglas State Forest and is one of the most remote sections of the route that is still open as a public road. A 1 mile section here was still unpaved until around 2002, when the last part was finally paved. At the center of Douglas, the Post Road follows MA Route 16 east to East Douglas. Where Route 16 turns south, the Post Road continues east as Northeast Main Street, which leads to the Uxbridge town line. ; Uxbridge Entering Uxbridge, the name of the road changes to Hartford Avenue. Hartford Avenue is a major cross-town road and follows the route of the Post Road for its entire length. From the Douglas town line to the intersection of MA Route 122 it is known as Hartford Avenue West, from Route 122 to the Mendon town line, it is known as Hartford Avenue East. The original stone arch bridge over the Blackstone Canal is still in use today. ; Mendon Enters the town from Uxbridge as Hartford Avenue West. Follow that road to Route 16, which follows the route of the Post Road for approx 1/2 mile east to Maple Street, which follows the route into Mendon town center. From there the Post Road followed a Providence-Worcester post road south out of the village. This section is now part of Providence Street. About 1 mile south of the town center the roads split. The Post Road heads east, now known as Hartford Avenue East. This road follows the original Post Road route to the Bellingham town line. Historic milestone 37 is still located along the route. {Link without Title} ; Bellingham Enters from Mendon as Hartford Avenue. MA Route 126 joins the road shortly before crossing over Interstate 495 . Route 126 follows the Post Road route the remainder of the way to the Medway town line. ; Medway ; Millis ; Medfield ; Dedham SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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