Boston Post Road was any of the first three mail routes to serve colonial America. These roads ran between Boston and New York City. The journey on horseback between the two cities could take as long as two weeks. The original Boston Post Road, later called the Upper Road, went into use in 1673. Two other mail routes were known as the Middle and Lower roads.
The Upper Road ran from Boston west through Worcester and Springfield, Mass. Then it turned south through Hartford and New Haven, Conn., and continued south along the east coast to New York City. The Middle Road extended from Boston southwest to Pomfret, Conn., and then to Hartford, where it joined the Upper Road. The Lower Road ran from Boston to Providence, R.I., and south along the coast through Old Saybrook, Conn. The Lower Road joined the Upper and Middle roads in New Haven. The route of the Lower Road partly followed that of today’s U.S. Highway 1.
