The Old Milestones about Philadelphia.

Many of the old roads radiating from the city of Philadelphia are guarded by milestones of upwards of a century and a half of service. These silent sentinels have seen the conestoga wagons of the pioneers migrating toward the sunset; the pillion saddles and sedan chairs of the revolutionary period ; the intercity stagecoaches that preceded the railroads ; the trolley cars, bicycles, and automobiles of the present day; and one of them, perhaps the oldest of all, daily sees the mail-carrying aeroplane break its journey between the metropolis and the capital. The critical date in milestone history is 1796, when the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, the first in America, was opened for traffic. In accordance with the stipulations of its charter, this company placed milestones for use in computing toll along its course. This provision was made in the charters of nearly all subsequent turnpike companies until 1859. These stones indicated the distance from the city limits, that being where the turnpike began, and so they can be distinguished from all earlier stones which measured from the old courthouse on Market Street between Front and Second Streets. Another point of difference is that the earlier stones were taken from local quarries, and in some instances were placed by private enterprise, so that they differ among themselves in size, shape, lettering, and material, while the turnpike stones are almost entirely of marble, a substance which came into use for the purpose with the turnpikes. In this article the various roads will be considered in geographical order, taking up first those north of the city.