milemarker

Well, I guess I could set up a site to store these, even if only on a temp basis until a better repository is found. I currently maintain a couple of web sites and have the tools and know-how. We could use the Benchmark Log page as a starting point and adjust the content/layout for these types of markers. But I don't want to do all this work unless more then a couple of people are interested - how many people are really interested? Can we hear from you?

While Franklin was Postmaster [off and on between 1753 and the start of the revolution] he laid thousands of miles of post roads all up and down the colonies and into Canada and ordered them marked them with milestones. These stones were pretty consistent in shape and content. Every one that I've seen has been sandstone and they haven't weathered well. Many of those old post roads were upgraded over time and quite a few of those stones have gone missing during that construction [at least in the northeast]. Many other colonial roads [especially the "King's Highways" going from major city to major city] were marked with milestones and these run the gamut. Often they were just the closest, tallest rock with the directions and mileage hand-chiseled into them [and often the name or initials of the person setting the stone]. There is no conformity whatsoever to these types of stones and they are the hardest to find [you have to find the road first...]. These old roads also have all kinds of other ancient markers on them [directions, boundaries, "half-way" indicators, survey, etc.] and most of these are in surprisingly good condition [with some going on 300 years now]. The turnpike companies [active from the 1790's until the railroads killed them off] marked their roads with stones and these were pretty consistent in shape and content most of the time [but unique to each company - and there were 100's of turnpikes]. When the automobile came along, and before the numbered highway system, there were "Named Roads" and many of these were marked with milestones and directions by the organizations that named and promoted the road, like the Lincoln Highway, the Yellowstone Trail, the Mohawk Trail and some of these were coast-to-coast trails. There were several hundred "Named Roads". I do have lots of pictures, but many were taken before digital cameras so I'll have to scan some examples. But first, I'll have to find them as I recently moved and haven't unpacked everything yet. Give me a few weeks. PS Tubeman, I like your photo - do you always wear a lab coat?

Hi everyone, this is my first post as I'm a new member. I found this forum doing a search with Goggle looking for milestones. I'm relieved that I found someone else that has an interest in milestones [i ran and told my wife right away, she thinking me nuts all these years]. I've been searching for and researching milestones [and also old roads] for 20-25 years in the southeastern New England area and have found 100+ of them. I have field notes and pictures of many [almost all work was pre-GPS] but haven't compiled or documented any of it, and I've always wondered what would happen to all my work should I get run over by a truck someday... I also figured out that I could never in a lifetime find all of the ones that exist in just eastern Massachusetts by myself, never mind a larger geographical area. I would estimate that in the US, that there are many thousands [10k+?] milestones. I know nothing about Benchmark Hunting but surmise that people do that for the same reason I search for milestones. What I can tell you is, that for many reasons, milestones are much harder to find then you might think. It's Summer now [with lots to do] but maybe later this year and if others are interested, I could share what I've found and describe what I've learned about how to find them. So what's the interest?