THE BOSTON POST ROAD

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The Boston Post Road, which first came into existence in the 1670s, was Worcester’s means of accessing the wider world. To the east were the towns of Shrewsbury, Northborough, Marlborough and then Boston. To the west was the city of New York by way of Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven. By the 1770s the Post Road had developed into three main branches. Worcester was on what was called the Upper Road, the preferred route because it crossed fewer rivers and was the shortest route. The Upper Road also boasted the best taverns, another reason for its popularity. The Boston Post Road was the route that Paul Revere traveled when he delivered word of the Tea Party in 1773 to New York. It was the route Gen. Thomas Gage’s spies took from Boston in January 1775 to determine if a military expedition to Worcester was practical. The Worcester militia traveled on the Post Road to join the fighting at Concord and later the siege around Boston.