The Bronx street named Boston Road has a different story. According to “History in Asphalt: The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Names,” by John McNamara, it “was laid out after the Revolutionary War because of the efforts of Col. Lewis Morris, who sought to reroute the Post Road so that it ran through his manorlands in the lower Bronx.” The southwestern portion of that route is now called Third Avenue, but the rest survives, though interrupted by the Bronx Zoo. Boston Road links up with the historic Post Road across the city line in Westchester County.

Before the Revolution, the Boston Post Road was called King’s Highway. As postmaster general for the colonies, Benjamin Franklin ordered milestones placed along the road; some still exist, including one in Rye, N.Y., in the Boston Post Road National Historic District there.

The road continued to be used for mail service to New England until the construction of railroads in the 1840s. The Post Road took several different routes north of New York, including a high road through Springfield, Mass., and a coastal road.