One book you might find enlightening, though it is of a popular rather than a scholarly nature, is Richard F. Palmer, "The 'Old Line Mail': Stagecoach Days in Upstate New York" (Lakemont, NY: North Country Books, 1977 There is also useful discussion, and maps, in D.W. Meinig, "Geography of Expansion, 1785-1855" in John H. Thompson, ed., "Geography of New York State" (Syracuse University Press, 1966 and later editions). A map on p. 158 shows NYS-Albany-Pittsburgh Routes as of 1818. The basic alternatives, so far as I know, would have been wagon from Albany, or boat via the Mohawk River (which already had canals around Little Falls) Hugh C. MacDougall Secretary/Treasurer James Fenimore Cooper Society 8 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326-1016 <[log in to unmask]> <http://library.cmsu.edu/cooper/cooper.htm> ---------- > From: Ruth Ann Messick <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: From Saratoga Springs, NY > Date: Monday, July 19, 1999 12:56 AM > > Before the Erie Canal was built, what was the main mode of transportation > across NYS (via what is now Rt. 20) when a family was moving bag and > baggage > to take up residence elsewhere? Particularly wondering about 1800 time > period from Springfield, MA to Oneida County. > > > God Bless > Ruth Ann > [log in to unmask]