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What was a post road? | Almanac.com

What was a post road?

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What was a post road?
Answer
A post road was any recognized mail route. Early post offices were just coffeehouses or taverns, and letter carriers were horsemen who worked in a relay system. Richard Fairbanks’s tavern in Boston was one such mail repository, established in 1639. Later, both navigable waters (1823) and railroads (1838) were designated as “post roads” by Congress.