Albany Post Road

United States Migration  Trails and Roads  New York  Albany Post Road

The Albany Post Road, also known as the "Queen's Road," and later the "King's Road" connected the colonial seaport of New York City (New Amsterdam) and the fur trading outpost, and second-largest city of Albany (Beverwijck), New York starting in 1669. Each end of the road at New York City and Albany was a nexus of other significant migration routes. The Albany Post Road along the east side of the Hudson River was about 150 miles (241 km) long.

Historical Background
The Albany Post Road was created with military communications apparently in mind during a period tension between the Second and the Third Anglo-Dutch Wars. In 1664 four English warships in the harbor compelled the surrender of the New Netherland colony to England, thereby starting the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The colony was renamed New York. That same year King Charles II of England requested a postal road (later called the King's Highway or Boston Post Road) be built from Boston to newly conquered New York City. The first ride carrying mail on the Boston Post Road was in January 1673. In 1669 the New York government also designated a postal road from New York City to Albany, the Albany Post Road. It followed older trails of the Wiccoppe and Wappinger Indian tribes on the east side of the Hudson River. By 1671 these tribes had been hired to carry the mail between the two towns. In July 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, a Dutch fleet recaptured New York, but the 1674 Treaty of Westminster returned it to England.

In 1703, during Queen Anne's War the legislature authorized the widening of the Albany Post Road into a general public highway. This highway was named the "Queen's Road" in honor of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. When she was succeeded by George II and George III, the road became known as the "King's Road" (not to be confused with the King's Highway from Boston to New York City to Charleston). The Albany Post Road was widened for the military in the 1730s. Around that time taverns were built and occasional stagecoach service began along the route. In 1754, two years before the French and Indian War, the British Army again widened the road to help defend against invasion from Quebec. After 1763 milestones were added at the request of Postmaster Benjamin Franklin. During the Revolutionary War the road was fortified, defended, and frequently used for troop movements. After the war in 1785 the legislature established regular stagecoach service. Mail service went up the river on the east side road, and down the river on the west side road.

In 1806 competing turnpike routes lessened the traffic on the old route. By 1850 railroads had made the Albany Post Road obsolete and stagecoach service stopped.

Route
The counties along this migration route (south to north) were as follows:


 * Manhattan County
 * Bronx County
 * Westchester County
 * Putnam County
 * Dutchess County
 * Columbia County
 * Rensselaer County
 * Albany County

Connecting trails. The Albany Post Road linked to other trails at each end. Other trails also had junctions with it in two places in the middle.

The migration pathways connected at the south end in New York City included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean, and Long Island Sound connected New York City with Europe and Africa
 * Hudson River a navigable river stretching from north of Albany then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at New York City
 * Great Shamokin Path a pre-historic Indian path from Long Island to Lake Erie
 * Port of New York City 1624 where ships on the Hudson River and from around the world brought immigrants
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * King's Highway (or Boston Post Road) 1673 connecting Boston, Massachusetts to New York City and Charleston, South Carolina and cities in between
 * Morris Canal 1831 connected Jersey City, New Jersey (and New York City) to Philipsburg, New Jersey on the Delaware River and part of Pennsylvania
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected New Brunswick, New Jersey on the Raritan River (and New York City) to Bordontown, New Jersey on the Delaware River and part of Pennsylvania

The migration pathways connected at the north end in Albany included:


 * Hudson River prehistoric
 * Lake Champlain Trail pre-historic
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail pre-historic
 * Forbidden Path (or Catskill Turnpike) pre-historic
 * Old Connecticut Path pre-historic
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * Greenwood Road
 * Champlain Canal 1819
 * Erie Canal 1825

Between those ends the Albany Post Road also also had junctions with two other important migration routes:


 * Minsi Path from Philadelphia to Kingston, New York, just across the Hudson River from the Albany Post Road in Dutchess County.
 * Catskill Road (or Susquehanna Turnpike) 1806 from Springfield, Massachusetts to Wattle's Ferry, New York (and eventually Ithaca) crossed the Albany Post Road in Columbia County.

Modern parallels. The modern road that roughly matches the Albany Post Road is U.S. Route 9 from New York City (Broadway) to Albany.

Settlers and Records
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