Boston Garden

Boston Rd., Bronxwood Ave., Allerton Ave.

Bronx

Directions via Google Maps

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Postal carriers first traveled the Boston Post Road, the first official post road in North America, in 1673. The road had been established by Colonel Francis Lovelace’s decree on behalf of King Charles II (1630-1685) of England in that year. Originally a Native American trail, the Boston Post Road took two weeks to travel between New York and Boston by horse. Acting to improve traffic and postal delivery efficiency, authorities changed the route several times. In 1783, Lewis Morris (1726-98), an influential American political leader and landowner, created a new and final route that passed through his land, known as Morrisania in what is now the Bronx, on the way to Massachusetts. The Boston Post Road remained a major postal route in New York City until the 1840s, when it was phased out following the rise in popularity of railroads for commercial transportation. In the present day, the former Boston Post Road has become U.S. Highway 1 from Boston to New York City, which l…

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