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Footpaths
The Wampanoag used footpaths, established by long use, to move between settlements and seasonal camps. Paths lead between spring sites for gathering plants and fishing and summer cornfields. These narrow paths were not always the straightest link between two places. People created the paths for ease and convenience, avoiding steep hills and crossing streams at shallow fords.

Major paths, like the Nemasket Trail, connected Wampanoag communities. The Nemasket Trail ran between the settlement of Patuxet (later Plymouth) on the coast, west through Titicut and Nemasket (Middleboro) and south to Mauntap (Mount Hope) on Narragansett Bay. Other trails led to territory occupied by other tribes. The Bay Path ran northward to Massachusett land. The Wampanoag traded with neighboring tribes for exotic materials like unusual stones.

Many of these paths were later used by English colonists and became cart roads and eventually, highways. Today’s Route 44 follows the basic route of the Nemasket Trail. Much of Route 53 goes along the Bay Path, and Route 18 along the line of the Satucket Path.

The Pilgrims used oxen to pull wagons. Once the Puritans landed in Boston, Plymouth residents made a good living trading livestock to the newcomers. They walked the cattle from Plymouth to Boston via the Bay Path.

Travel on horseback took considerable time. In 1713 Samuel Sewall of Boston observed, "Mr Winslow of Marshfield comes to Town; Set out so long before Sunrise that he was here about 3. p.m."

Cart Roads
The Pilgrims used footpaths to visit their Native neighbors for trade, diplomacy and other purposes. They also created paths to link Plymouth to new settlements, like Duxbury, Marshfield and Scituate to the north.

Around 1627 the Pilgrims established a trading post at Aptuxet, on the Bourne River at Buzzards Bay. There, they traded with the Natives and the Dutch. Before long a footpath was created, linking Plymouth with Aptuxet.

At first the Pilgrims had no draft animals, so they had to walk. After 1623, when Edward Winslow brought cattle back from England, the Pilgrims began to use oxen to pull plows and wheeled carts. Horses were imported about 15 years later. Soon after the establishment of Boston in 1630, the Pilgrims used the Bay Path to bring trade goods like livestock to the new settlement. Not everyone owned a boat. While more difficult, walking did not cost anything.

In 1692 Plymouth Colony became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Boston became the capital of the entire colony. Transportation to Boston was now more important than ever, for trade and for government. Samuel Sewall and other judges traveled to sessions court at county seats in Plymouth and Barnstable. Travel along the narrow dirt roads was a challenge. Col. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield served on the Governor’s Council and frequently had to travel between Marshfield and Boston. A diary entry from 1713 reveals that it took him from dawn until early afternoon to ride the twenty-odd miles on horseback!

Post Roads and Turnpikes
18th-century roads were notoriously bad. Each town was supposed to care for its section of through roads, recruiting citizens to repair roads each spring. This didn’t always happen, and the dirt roads were heavily rutted and muddy. Winter was the easiest season to travel, as the roads were frozen and people could use sleighs. Spring was the worst season to travel.

The need for communication during the Revolution caused the establishment of the first national postal system in 1776. Post riders rode horseback between Cambridge and Sandwich via Plymouth once a week. While no longer a capital, Plymouth was a county seat and market town. The post rider dropped mail off with town postmaster William Watson, who notified the recipients to collect their mail. The journey was long over 60 miles of bad roads. The 20 mile trip between Plymouth and Sandwich took five to six hours! Eventually the mail was carried by stagecoach.

After the Revolution, New York eclipsed Boston as the north’s most important port. The need for good communication between the two cities caused post roads to be constructed. These new roads were straight, level and kept in good repair. The water route to New York, along the Plymouth coast and around Cape Cod, was not only long, but dangerous due to the shoals along the Outer Cape. With new roads, the land route was faster and safer. There were three routes between Boston and New York. Two passed through Providence, which began to grow in importance accordingly. Today, part of the old post road passes near Green Airport off US 95. Some of US 1 also follows the eastern post road.

Surveyor’s Compass Maple, ash, brass; New England, 1750-1800 Descended in the Wadsworth family of Duxbury. A "circumferenter" like this one was used in mapping land or roads. The surveyor set the compass on a tripod, then swiveled the brass sight vane to specific landmarks to determine angles. Length (in acres or rods) was measured by using chains. Each link was about 8 inches long.

With the growth of new industries after the war, businessmen needed good roads to transport goods. If publicly maintained roads didn’t work, private roads might. Financiers organized turnpike companies to build toll roads. Travelers passed through a gate (or pike) upon paying toll. Most of the turnpikes in southeastern Massachusetts passed inland, connecting Providence with Boston, bypassing Plymouth and the coast.