Shrewsbury
Historical Society
Established 1898
Mario - Fats - Caruso
1928 - 1993
Mario - Fats - Caruso
1928 - 1993
Stagecoach Line
The Boston Post Road, originally known as Bay Path, was the first developed road west from Boston through central Massachusetts. The road cut through local towns like Sudbury and Northborough, through Shrewsbury and Worcester, ending in Hartford, Connecticut. For colonial America, it was a thoroughfare for foot traffic, horseback riders and wagons.
Levi Pease, born in Enfield, Connecticut, in 1740, served in the army during the Revolutionary War. He was largely responsible for transportation concerns. His duties included correspondence, delivering horses, moving artillery and foraging for supplies. After the war, Pease used his experience to develop transportation routes. In 1783, he partnered with Reuben Sykes, and began offering transportation services between Hartford and Boston. In 1793, he purchased Farrar's Tavern in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, establishing headquarters for his stagecoach line.
Pease introduced several transportation innovations. He employed conductors to thwart dishonest ticket collection practices. He convinced competitive stage lines to open a ticket office to create one point of purchase. He created an express service with fewer stops for faster delivery. And in the early 1800s, Pease lobbied the Massachusetts legislature for a charter to build the first turnpike from Boston to Worcester. Before his death in 1824, Levi Pease became known as the Father of the Turnpike.
Levi Pease, Stage Route and Transportation Innovator (Connecticut History, 2019) connecticuthistory.org/levi-pease-stage-route-and-transportation-innovator