The Boston Post Road

In 1672, King Charles II decreed a mail system to aid communication between the colonies. Once a month, a rider on horseback delivered saddlebags marked for each town along the route from New York to Boston. Fees for delivering mail were assessed according to the miles the mail traveled, and the recipient paid the tariff. In 1767, Benjamin Franklin, the country's first postmaster, devised a precise method to levy postage fees by ordering stone markers placed at each mile along the route between Boston and New York City so mail carriers could charge the correct postage. These mile markers gave birth to the historic Boston Post Road. Stone posts were placed in Sutton at miles 45 through 50, and four of these remain today.

Sutton, Massachusetts · United States