There are days when you think you're in the "Twilight Zone." Imagine if you will! On May 9th, I received an email from Jennifer and Dave Shea from Darien, Connecticut informing me that they read an article I had written that mentioned the Northern Turnpike. This 1799 toll road led from Lansingburgh to Granville, a distance of 50 miles.

Jennifer's email grabbed my attention: "Last year we found an old stone in our yard in Darien, CT. It reads Turnpike to Lansingburgh, 16 Miles." They go on to say, "We would like to return it to its original location." Of the 50 milestones on the turnpike, only 12 are still standing. Milestone 16 is 170 miles from home.

I asked Mike Engle about the possible location of this mile marker. Mike is an old diner historian, but also has a link to a Web site that lists the location and history of the turnpike (http://www.geocities.com/cornwallace55/ntpke.html). He informed me that milestone 16 would have been located on Route 67 in the Town of Pittstown. I called the Town Historian for Pittstown and she would welcome it back, so I am arranging the homecoming with the Shea's and hope to have it back in July.

Now to the rest of the story. My friend and historian John Wolcott and I were doing some fieldwork in Schenectady County last week and took a lunch break in the new Mohawk Commons off Balltown Road. I was retelling the story about the Northern Turnpike when he remembered that across the road was an old 18th century mansion known as Duncan's Hermitage, now a retirement home called Ingersoll Residence, founded in 1924.

About 35 years ago, John remembered seeing an old milestone of the Albany Schenectady Turnpike (present Central Ave, Rt.5) in the garage. We drove over and asked the administrators Charles O'Hare and Jim McPhee if we could rummage through their garage. It took us about two minutes to find it. Yes, this 1802-1805 milestone was sitting between the garage doors, covered with plastic still with its inscription faintly etched. It's probably milestone 10 or 11 - the hermitage was situated between the two. Further research (cleaning it) will shed more light on it. We are now working on trying to arrange a donation to the Schenectady Historical Society or Schenectady Museum. Hats off to the Ingersoll Residence for taking good care of this 199-year old stone for 80 years.

Turnpikes became popular during the 18th century. Britain first authorized a toll-road in 1663, and "turnpike mania" swept England from about 1750 to 1772. The first American turnpike was built between Philadelphia and Lancaster in 1794.

In 1799, Albany developed the Great Western Turnpike (Western Ave.). Lansingburgh followed with the Northern Turnpike, and directly across from Albany, in Rensselaer, the Eastern Turnpike and Rensselaer - Columbia (originally called the Albany-Columbia) Turnpikes were created.

Troy created the Troy-Schenectady Turnpike and Albany the Albany and Schenectady Turnpike, both in 1802, followed by the Albany-Delaware (1805). According to George Roberts in "Old Schenectady," (1904), between the time of the turnpike and the completion of the Erie Canal in 1824, this road was the key transportation feature going west because of the Western Inland Lock & Navigation system, created by General Philip Schuyler (completed in 1795), and the invention of Durham boats that could carry more freight. Schenectady prospered. According to Wolcott, "this prosperity was further increased with the completion of the Schenectady Turnpike in 1805, because Schuyler's system began at Schenectady. The turnpike connected the Hudson to the Mohawk where Schuyler's system began and prevailed until the completion of the Erie Canal."

Wolcott also says it seems that the Schenectady Turnpike may have been the first paved highway in the Western Hemisphere and longest straight lined road. In 1811, it was getting so much freight wagon traffic going west, that 4 rows of flat stones were laid for the wagon wheels for a two-lane highway track along the entire 15-mile length of the turnpike.

New York was almost last in promoting the turnpike, only fully adopting the turnpike plan with its General Law in 1807. Turnpikes, however, were not the financial windfalls that supporters imagined and most were unprofitable, not to mention unwelcome by local citizenry (often using "shun-pikes" (free roads) to get around the toll gates).

From 1797 through 1846, 449 turnpike companies were incorporated in New York, but the actual number of roadways built totaled only 165. Even the short-lived boom of plank roads between 1846 and 1853 didn't help.

Water routes (Hudson River and the Erie Canal) and later steam (steamboats and trains) would eventually kill the turnpikes.

Nevertheless, now at least two turnpike milestones are returning home - a milestone in itself.-----

Heritage on the Hudson appears every Tuesday in the Troy Record