Durham Road Milestone
Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Bearing the inscription "1 M to N" (one mile to Newtown) this milestone is believed to have placed before 1741. It is one of two such markers still located on the historical 43-mile road from Bristol to Durham Furnace. Newtown, an important stop along this road, was the county seat from 1726 to 1813.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
This weathered stone once told riders exactly where they stood: one mile to Newtown. Set in place before 1741, it survives as one of only two remaining milestones along the 43-mile colonial road that ran from Bristol to the ironworks at Durham Furnace. Newtown, an important waypoint on that route, served as the Bucks County seat for most of the eighteenth century.
Why it matters
Humble milestones like this one document how colonial Pennsylvania organized travel and distance long before modern highways, marking the routes that knit early communities together.
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