Wallet card at NYC's last remaining 19th century mile markers

Before the 20th century brought the automobile to our roads, major thoroughfares had mile markers to let coachmen and other horseback riders know how far along they were on their journey. While most mile markers have been gone for decades, even over a century, two still stand in New York City after all these years.

Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn was built in the 1870s, with miles markers along the 11 miles between Prospect Park and Coney Island. At least a few lasted through 1977, when the parkway was rebuilt, and at least one other lasted until 2010 before being mysteriously removed. That leaves just one marker still in place on the side of the road, having watched nearly 150 years of traffic go by.

That mile marker is certainly one of the oldest items I've taken a wallet card photo of, but not nearly the oldest for this post. The Boston Post Road is one of the oldest highways in the United States, established as a route between Boston and New York in the mid-17th century, based on trails used by Native Americans and early colonists. In the late 18th century, mile markers were installed along the route. (A popular rumor that Benjamin Franklin ordered the markers, and even measured out their locations himself, is false.) 

The mile markers that dotted the island of Manhattan likely appeared in the early 19th century. One of them stood on what is now 190th street. In 1842, the mile markers were relocated as the zero point was moved to the site of the new City Hall, and this one was moved to 204th street. In the late 19th century, the marker was removed by work crews who were expanding and rebuilding the roads in the area, and William Isham, a wealthy leather merchant and banker, had the marker installed in a wall in his estate. In 1911, after Isham's death, the estate was donated to the city, where it is now known as Isham Park. The milestone is still visible today.

 

The mile marker originally had an inscription indicating distance to New York. (Today all of Manhattan is called "New York", but at the time the marker was installed, most of the island above Wall Street was uninhabited.) Here is a 1912 photo of the marker when it still had the inscription. It comes from the fantastic Ephemeral New York blog, which has great posts on both the Ocean Parkway and Boston Post Road markers.