If you’ve walked, cycled, or driven by the Jay Estate lately, you may have noticed that conservation of Mile Marker 24 on the historic Boston Post Road has begun.
If you’ve walked, cycled, or driven by the Jay Estate lately, you may have noticed that conservation of Mile Marker 24 on the historic Boston Post Road has begun. The brown sandstone monument can be found set into the park’s perimeter stonewall with the Jay Mansion directly behind it. It is one of three milestones in Rye placed over 200 years ago along the oldest highway in the United States, Route 1. It is the only one whose original numerical inscription and bronze re-dedication plaque remain visible to the public.
Having survived for centuries, the marker approximates the 24-mile trek between John Jay’s childhood home and his own “safe route to school” to King’s College (today’s Columbia University which originally adjoined Trinity Church down on Broadway).
The Jay Heritage Center selected Amanda Trienens, founder of Cultural Heritage Conservation, to stabilize it. Working alongside her is Matthew C. Reiley of Excelsior Art Services and Associate Director of Conservation for the Central Park Conservancy.
Stop by to check out the work in progress or follow the phases of conservation online at the center’s Facebook page. Read more at www.flickr.com/photos/jayheritagecenter/sets/7215762460374872.
— Photo courtesy of the Jay Heritage Center
