Boston Globe 10/17/10: The road that built us. Without knowing it, you’ve almost surely walked it or driven it, maybe on your way to the grocery store in Wayland, or a restaurant in the South End.

Since it became America’s first mail route back in 1673, the Boston Post Road has connected Boston to New York City, delivering messages, guiding travelers, and tying the Northeast together. In that time, some legs of the route have shifted, and most of it is now known by other names — Washington Street, Route 20, Main Street, or Mass. Route 9. But if you know how to follow the thread, you can still trace the Post Road beneath our modern streets and highways. A few stretches, as residents of Marlborough and Sudbury know, among others, are still called Boston Post Road.