MILE MARKERS

"Franklin" Mile Markers**

​

The Mile Markers located on the North Fork on Long Island were placed there in 1829, by order of New York State to denote the road that made their way from east to west through the town to the nearest post office. The Main Road in Southold, which ran from Orient Point to Laurel, turned south at what is now Boisseau Avenue after it made its way around the marshy land and waters that divided Southold from what is today Greenport.  

 

Southold’s Town Board, after receiving the state mandate ordered its Highway commissioners to set up stone markers carved with the miles to the nearest post office, which was at the time in Suffolk Courthouse, today Riverhead.  

 

Markers numbered 1-6 which were located west of Laurel in Riverhead Town were made from wooden boards, and no longer exist.  Robert P. Long’s 1991 book on the Markers has a number of errors regarding the existing stones and their history.  Below are images of the North Fork markers in their current state. SEE BELOW.

​

** Clarification on Benjamin Franklin's link to what are typically called Franklin Mile Markers:

In the mid-18th century, Benjamin Franklin, serving as Postmaster General of the American colonies, helped transform how people traveled and communicated. To improve mail delivery, Franklin introduced standardized methods for measuring distances along major postal roads, using an odometer attached to his carriage to record mileage.

Long Island was part of an important colonial route linking New York City with New England. While Benjamin Franklin did not personally place mile markers on Long Island, his postal reforms established the system that required roads to be accurately measured and marked. Local and colonial officials later installed mile markers along key east–west roads to indicate distances.

Today, Long Island’s historic mile markers—whether original or recreated—stand as reminders of Franklin’s lasting influence on early American transportation, communication, and infrastructure.

​

​