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Iknjamin I:ranklin's
i~orlh fork
fascinating heritage
from i 755
Rol~rt P. Long
Benjamin I~ranklin's
North I~ork
2
I~¢njamin I~ranklin's
North l~ork
fascinating herita§¢
from 1755
Robert P. Long
Copyright ~v 1991
445 Glen Court, Culchog~e. NY !1935
~ n 1755 a carriage ~ith a strange bell ringing mileage
· F meter aboard, followed b,y~ a wagonload of workmen and
~ stone monuments, was seen rolling along the King's High-
~-"~ way from IRiverhead to Oysterponds. The passenger in
the carriage reportedly wore a high hat. ruffled shirt, double-
breasted cutaway coat with brass buttons, a waislcoat (vest) of
a light figured material, black shoes with large nickel buckles,
and an enormous fob chain. He also carried a well-filled lunch
basket in case lhere were no inns or taverns along lhe road.
The man was Benjamin Franklin, whom the English Crown in
1753 had appointed Postmaster General of the northern col-
onies, based in Philadelphia. Col. William Hunter of Virginia
jointly was appointed, to oversee the postal system of the south-
ern colonies. The two were al]oted a total of 600 English pounds
per year, and the Postmasters would share any "profit" remainin9
after all expenses were paid. (By 1761 the syslem showed a
profit).
Franklin was measuring mile-by-mile, lhe distance trom
Suffolk Court House (later to be named Riverhead. in 18r)g),
to Oysterponds (later Orient), al the east end of l on9 Island's
North Fork. (Horses in those days had no odomelers) ]he
carriage which the inventive Franklin had designed, had an
odometer device which ran9 a bell as the carriage lraveled each
20 rods. A rod is 16.5 reef, and a little basi( arithmetic shows
that a carria9e wheel with a diameter of 63.03 inchc, s would
cover one rod with each revolution. Every 16 rings ot the bell
would equal one mile (320 rods or 5,280 feet).
In those times 1here was a wooden worm 9ear devi(:~, (:ailed
a "weasel", which, upon a set number of revolutions of ils whe<.l,
produced a crack or signal (said to be /be origin or ti,(! '~ong
"Pop, Goes the Weasel", though lhere are also olher I~q~mds)
Wesley Dickinson of the Southold Hislorical Sociely surmi.,ed
thal such a device may have been adapted and used on Franklin's
carriage to ring a bell. There is such a weasel on display in lhe
Sociely's Museum Gift Shop in the Prince Buildin9. Tile device
has wooden 9ears, and il springs a lhin sial to make a .,t~arp
crack sound at each 40 revolutions or a rack on which yarn was
wound, to measure the lenglh of windin9. The number of leeth
in the gear, which is lurned by a hand cranked worm gear,
determines the frequency o[ lhe cracks.
At each mile Franklin's carriage stopped, and a wood stake
was driven on lhe south side of the highway, and the workmen
unloaded the proper milestone and set it into the 9round. I1 was
exactly 30 miles from lhe Courl House (central posl office) to
the Oyslerponds retry.
Today, 21 of these 236 year old milestones are still in
place or accounted for, moslly in good condition, lhough weath-
This "weasel' device at the Southold Historical Society, makes a crack
sound at every so many revolutions, to measure the length of yarn wound
on the rack.
ered considerably, along the Old King's Highway~ long since
designated as Route 25, Boisseau Avenue, and farther east,
Route 48. In today's traffic they are easily overlooked, but are
quite prominent once you are aware of them (more on locations
later).
Why milestones in 17557 They were this local area's part
in a broad program of organization of the colonial postal system
which was in its infancy. The cost of sending a letter b~/horse-
back, ox-wagon or stagecoach was based on the number of
miles from the central post office. There was a great deal of
controversy among postal authorities, clerks and patrons about
fees~ services and distances. To improve service as well as com-
munications among the colonies, Franklin personally covered
as many New England and Middle Atlantic post roads as possi-
ble, and ordered mile markers on many, including the Boston
Post Road.
On Long Island~ the King's Highway ran from Fulton Ferry
in Brooklyn to the Rhode Island Ferry at Oysterponds. One post
road came from the west through Wading River to Suffolk Court
House, and some markers were placed on that road also. as
well as on Montauk Highway. though perhaps not by Franklin.
One source states that Franklin supervised the placing of miles-
tones on the Boston Post Road~ Running as it did from Brooklyn
ferries from New York City~ to the Rhode Island ferry at Orient,
the King's Highway was a principal route to New England. In
1757 Col. George Washington stopped at the Constant Booth
Inn in Sterling (Stirling~ now Greenport)~ on his way to New
London and Boston. In fact, that was the year he recommended
that a lighthouse be erected at Horton Point, Southold. So it
would not be unusual for Franklin and others to pass this way
on occasion, as they did.
Postal services were haphazard, with letters often left with
tavern keepers to be given to the addressee when and if he or
she stopped there. Under Franklin's genius for organization.
communications among the colonies greatly improved, accounts
were systematized~ roads, fords and ferries designated and im-
proved. The improvement was such that soon a letter could be
sent from Philadelphia to Boston, and a return letter received,
within three weeks. Up to that time. all newspapers were handled
free by the postal service, but Franklin thought this unfair~ and
decreed that all newspapers, including his own Gazette, must
pay postage.
Augustus Griffin's Journal, published in 1857 in Orient, a
history of the first settlers of Southold Town, has this to say
about the milestones: "About two years previous to this, (viz.
1755,) Dr. Benjamin Franklin passed through this island, from
The 7-mile marker on Franklinville Road, Laurel, is the westernmost
of the surviving stones,
Brooklyn to $outhold Harbor, and in a carriage of his own
construction. It was so contrived, with clock work or machinery
of peculiar make, that a bell would be struck at the termination
of every twenty rods. By this means, the Doctor measured the
distance accurately-his object, no doubt, being to ascertain
the lenqth of the island; and it seems a little strange that he did
not proceed to the end. He stopped at the inn of my grandfather,
Samuel Griffin, at the Harbor, (one hundred miles from Brooklyn,
as the road was at that day) and who took him, the following
day, across the Sound to New London. The Doctor was on his
way to Boston to visit his widowed mother."
It is somewhat puzzling that Griffin says that Franklin did
not proceed to the end. However, the milestones do proceed
all the way to today's Orient ferry. Another source states that
Dr. Franklin "waved his hat while inspecting the King's Highway,"
thus showing his enthusiasm for the project.
Yet another historic record places Franklin in Southold
somewhat earlier. Following is an excerpt from a letter written
by Franklin on October 25, 1750, from Philadelphia, to Jared
Eliot: "[ request you to procure for me a particular account of
the manner of making a new kind of fence we saw al Southold,
on Long Island, which consists of a bank and hedge. I would
know every particular relating to this matter, as the best thickness,
height, and slope of the bank; the manner of erecting it, the
best time for the work~ the best way of planting the hedge, the
price of the work to laborers per rod or perch, and whatever
may be of use for our information here, who begin in many
places to be at a loss for wood to make fences with. We were
told at Southold, that this kind of fencing had been long practised
with success at Southampton and other places, on the south
side of lhe Island, but was new among them. I hear the minister
at Southold is esteemed an ingenious man; perhaps you may
know him, and he will at your request favor me with an explicit
account of these fences." The milestone project came about
five years later.
In spite of Franklin's superb organization of the colonial
postal system, it is not surprising that he was dismissed from
his post by the Crown in 1774, as he became involved in the
Colonies' move toward independence. However, the following
year, the new Congress appointed him to the same office, with
his son-in-law, Richard Bache, as deputy Postmaster General.
The mile markers were regarded as highly important, as
shown by a 1788 ordinance "Protecting and Regulating of Mile
Stones... that disturbing a mile stone would cost the guilty Party
10
14-mile stone in Cutchogue. on Route 25, Main Road, east of Skunk Lane.
two years in jail and a thousand dollars in fine." This was a
serious penalty, and illustrates the importance attached to the
markers, and perhaps partially accounts for how well they have
survived.
The stones became importan't reference points, as inns,
taverns and other places could be accurately located as being
near, or a cer'tain distance from, a certain marker. Later, persons
11
L. AVR~I. ~~
17~'5 M~LESTONES- M~LEg
F~o/~ I~J V E 1~.14 E ~, ~2
I
I
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15~mile stone. Route 25, Peconic, one-tenth mile east of peconic Lane.
serving on juries, had accurate points of reference as they were
paid by the number of miles traveled~
The King's Highway pushed eastward into Southold village
(now Route 25, Main Road) and turned north on what is now
Boisseau Avenue, into the North Road (now Route 48), as there
was no road or bridge at that time across the swampy tidewater
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16-mile stone. Route 25. Southold, two-tenths mile east of South Harbor
l_ar, e, opposile Triangle Park.
inlet, Mill Creek. An 1882 map of Southold village shows the
Main Road as "Town Street", and Boisseau as "Road to Oyster-
ponds."
At one time, the "oldest house in Southold village" was the
Case House on Boisseau Avenue, said to be built in 1640, but
later determined to have been erected in 1652. it became an
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inn, known as Moore's Tavern, which was the site of several
historic footnotes. Franklin is said to have stayed there during
his road-measuring sojourn on Long Island. Alexander Hamilton
stayed there later on. according to his diary. The above-men-
tioned map shows the Moore property on the east side of Bols
seau (Road to Oysterponds), both north and south of the railroad.
As an interesting sidelight, in 1777. Moore's Tavern was
the center of the only battle of the Revolutionary War to be
fought in the village of Southold. The Town Historian of the
1930s, Wayland Jefferson. reported "that a number of British
boats lay at anchor off what we now refer to as 'The Landing'.
Captain Ayscough and a detachment of men from the boats
were at Moore's Tavern for refreshments. The word reached
Captain Hart of Cutchogue. He and a company of his men
ambushed the British in the Tavern and a running fight ensued,
during which the remnants of the British force succeeded in
making its way down what is now Maple Lane to their boat. The
records show that eleven British were killed in the brush."
Later. a somewhat contrasting event occurred at Moore's,
where Mrs. Abigail Ledyard Moore kept a shop. It was on her
invitation that the first gathering was held there of a group which
led lo the organization of the $oulhold Methodist Church in
1794. The old house tavern was moved in the 1890s. and de-
molished in 1936. according to an account in the Long Island
Traveler-Watchman at that time.
Milestone Locations
The surviving milestones are fairly well standardized in form
and size (except for a couple of replacements). Each is 12
inches wide by five inches thick, and stands about 36 inches
above ground level, although a few are shorter, perhaps having
been broken and reset. Mosl have recenlly had a coat of white
paint applied by the Town Highway Department. The chiseled
inscriptions are somewhat crude, in the configuration shown by
the accompanying rubbing.
The starting point for the 30 miles to Orient was at the
original Court House, in what is now Riverhead, and a historical
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19-mile stone, Route 48, North Road, Southold, op.)site the North I9ork
Beach Molel.
bronze plaque on a brick building on Main Street, facing Peconic
Avenue, across from the Riverhead Savings Bank, marks the
spot where the old court house stood. The first six markers have
not been found in many years. Around 1970, Dr. Lawrence T.
Waitz, then Southold Town Historian, said there were still 22
in place, the one nearest Riverhead being at Laurel (7 miles).
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He surmised that the missing markers between there and
Riverhead may have been mile boards nailed to posts, rather
than stone monuments, and thus would not have survived over
two centuries. He found town records authorizing lhe erection
of such mile boards along the Riverhead seclion o[ the post
road, according lo an account in Newsday in 1972. The present
18
The author doing a rubbing of Milestone 18, on Boisscau Avenue in
Soulhold. Photo by Donald Tuthill.
author was pleased to discover one marker reported missing
since 1950, Mile Number 27 in Orient. It lies flat, almost entirely
buried under dirt and grass at the edge of a field, near where
it ought to be. It is damaged with chips off each side, but the
inscription that remains is readable.
So, starting with Mile 7 eastward, there are now 21 surviving,
according to the author's survey, and this includes at least two
replacements. They are located as follows, all on the south side
of the highways.
Mile No. 7. Laurel. On the old section of Route 25, now
called Franklinville Road, just east of Aldrich Lane. The present
Route 25 by-passes south of this.
No. 8. Mattituck, Route 25. Missing. It was just east of the
LtRR overpass, but was shattered in recent years in an au-
tomobile accident.
No. 9. Mattituck, Route 25. About 30 yards west of the
Blue Water Fish Market, west of the Marine Ship Chandlery.
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I~o. 10. Mattituck, Route 25. One-tenth mile west of Mar-
ratooka Avenue, just west of service station.
No. 11. Mattituck~ Route 25. Top of Manor Hill (or Moore's
Hill), about two-tenths mile east of Manor Hill Lane.
No. 12. Cutchogue, Route 25. About 50 yards east of Praity
Lane~ west of the Pres~oyterian Church.
I~o. 13. Cutchogue, Route 25. One-tenth mile west of Har-
bor Lane, east of the King Kullen shopping center.
No. 14. Cutchogue, Route 25. About 30 yards west of Ted's
Auto Body shop, two-tenths mile east of Skunk Lane.
I~o. 15. Peconic, Route 25. One-tenth mile east of Peconic
Lane.
No. I6. Southold, Route 25. Opposite Triangle Park, two-
tenths mile east of South Harbor Lane.
No. 17. Southold, Route 25. In front of the Presbyterian
Manse~ east of church. A shorter replacement of the original,
placed around 1970.
No. 18. Southold~ Boisseau Ave. Just south of intersection
with Route 48, on vacant lot adjacent and south of Donald
Tuthill house.
No. 19. Southold, Route 48~ North Road. Just west of Sound
View Avenue and Town Beach~ opposite North Fork Beach
Motel.
No. 20. Greenport~ Route 48. Just east of Albertson Lane.
No. 21. Greenport, Route 48. Missing.
No. 22. Greenport, Route 48. About 20 yards east of Madi-
son Street, ~oehind farm stand.
No. 23. East Marion~ Route 25. East of where Route 48
ends and Route 25 comes north from Greenport center. East
of Wiggins Lane, west of Cleaves Point Estates.
No. 24. East Marion, Route 25. Directly in front of East
Marion Chapel. No inscription, a replacement. No. 25. East Marion, Route 25. Missing.
No. 26. Orient, Route 25. East of Orient Causeway, about
100 yards west of Latham Farm Stand.
No. 27. Orient, Route 25. Six-tenths mile west of Narrow
River Road. Reported missing in earlier surveys, now found lying
flat, mostly buried, sides chipped but part of inscription readable.
2O
No. 28. Orient. Route 25. Earlier reported moved from Old
Road to new road by-pass, and now in possession of Ralph
Williams. awailmg reselling.
No. 29. Orient. Route 2,5. One-lenth mile v, est of Oreenway
East. a private road.
No. 30. Orient. end of Route 25. Shortened marker adjacent
to ferry ticket office, on grass median between dri',ev, ays. leaning
toward the sea
Missing Stone Located
As a result of this milestone article published in The Peconic
Bay Shopper. $oulhold. N.Y. March 1991. missing Mileslone
No, 2.5 was located. Doug Rogers of East Marion. reported that
he had il in his ba(kyard, as a result of rescuing it from bein9
discarded about 30 years ago. He spotted it. broken in half, m
a pile of debris at a highway repair site, and asked if he could
have it. ~he crew said he could, and loaded it into his truck for
him. Upon readirrg the article, he called, and said he would like
lo have the slone repaired and returned lo its original location,
which was on Route 25 east of the causeway between Greenport
and East Marion. Al this writing, plarrs are evolvin9 for having
this done. ]his leaves only No. 21 unaccounled for.
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Notes
An idea concerning care and maintenance of the milestones
came out of the 1990 350th Town Anniversary committee
tributed to Harry Fagan). It was suggested that local youth
groups, such as Boy / Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs, Church Youth,
etc., or perhaps historical societies, "adopt" specific milestones
in their area. The group would be responsible for trimming weeds
or brush around the marker, making sure it is standing straight,
and generally look after it. Missing stones perhaps could be
duplicated and put in place through donation of funds and skills.
Some markers are on town (or county or state?) road rights-of-
way, and some are on private property. Anyway, it seems like
an idea that would enhance appreciation and help preserve an
important part of the East End's heritage.
Acknowledgments
Much of the above information is based on published work
done by numerous persons over the years, including:
Joy Bear, Frank Coyle, Magdaline Goodrich, Elisabeth S.
Lapham, Virginia Rusch, Dr. Lawrence T. Waltz, Virginia Wines,
Edna Howell Yeager and Archie Young.
Thanks also lo the following individuals and organizations:
Winifred Billard, Antonia Booth, Helen Case, Wesley Dickinson,
Frances Franke, Terry O'Shea, William Peters, John Stack, Elinor
Williams, Cutchogue Free Library, Culchogue-New Suffolk His-
torical Council, Landmarks Commission Town of Southold,
Southold Free Library, Southold Historical Society Archives, Suf-
folk County Historical Society Library, and Riverhead Free Li-
brary.
Bibliography
Around the Forks, Edna Howell Yeager
The Autobiography of Beniamin Franklin
Beniamin Franklin, Carl Van Doren~ 1938
Griffin's Journal, 1857, Orient
History of Southold United Methodist Church 1794-1971,
Alice B. Wells
Long Island Forum~ Feb. 1986
Long Island Traveler-Watchman, 1936
Newsday, Oct. 4~ 1972
The Old Boston Post Road~ Stephen Jenkins
The Story of the Boston Post Road, Stewart H. Holbrook
Southold Town Records~ Liber C, Vol. II. 1884
The Suffolk Time~ Sept. 5~ 1985
The Works of Beniamin Franklin~ Jared Sparks. Vol. VI. 1838
Most of Ihis material was published in The Peconic Bay Shopper, South
old, March, 1991, but several illustrations, including the map, have been
added for this bvoklet. All phes~os and illustrations are by the author,
except as otherwise noted
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