|
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Route 1 along the shore via Providence, Rhode Island), the Upper Post Road (now US 5 and US 20 from New Haven, Connecticut by way of Springfield, Massachusetts), and the Middle Post Road (which diverged from the Upper Road in Hartford, Connecticut and ran northeastward 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 some buildings of historical significance were built 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 milestones that date from the 18th century, many of which survive to this day. ==History== The Upper Post Road was originally called the Pequot Path and had been in use by native Americans long before Europeans arrived.〔Bourne, p.13〕 Some of these important native trails were in many places as narrow as two feet.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=A History of Connecticut )〕 What is now called the Old Connecticut Path and the Bay Path were used by John Winthrop the Younger to travel from Boston to Springfield in November, 1645, and these form much of the basis for the Upper Post Road. The colonists first used this trail to deliver the mail using post riders. The first ride to lay out the Upper Post Road started on January 1, 1673.〔Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, January 1917, Vol. 50, page 386, ()〕 Later, the newly blazed trail was widened and smoothed to the point where horse-drawn wagons or stagecoaches could use the road. The country's first successful long-distance stagecoach service was launched by Levi Pease along the upper road in October, 1783.〔("How the Post Road wrote New England’s history" ), ''The Boston Globe''〕 During the 19th century, turnpike companies took over and improved pieces of the road. Large sections of the various routes are still called the ''King's Highway'' and ''Boston Post Road''. Much of the Post Road is now U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 5, and U.S. Route 20. 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 city-line on Washington Street, near the present-day Massachusetts Turnpike. The Metropolitan Railroad Company was chartered in 1853 to run streetcars down the stretch of the road on Washington Street in Roxbury, which is now served by the MBTA Silver Line. The Upper and Lower Boston Post Roads were designated U.S. Routes 1 and 20 in 1925 (though Route 20 has since been substantially modified).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Boston Post Road」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|