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Old Relic State Route Marker?

Posting to a blog has many uses. One such use would be to enlist help in trying to identify an old relic.

Recently, I was on a drive with Mark Sinsabaugh and Steve Alpert and we decided to check out various road related items of interest in Fort Hunter, NY and Tribes Hill, NY, which are neighboring towns separated by the Mohawk River in Montgomery County. You may have heard of Fort Hunter as it is the town where the Interstate 90 / New York Thruway bridge collapse over the Schoharie Creek occurred in 1987.

Upon checking out a few old signs in Tribes Hill, we noticed a few concrete markers that appeared to have a route number or something similar.



This old marker is found on Mohawk Dr. (Old NY 5) at Main St. What I am trying to figure out is what the "80" stands for. We think it's for a route number. Current day NY 80 runs from Syracuse to Nelliston, which is a ways to the west of Tribes Hill. However, New York State did employ a different route number system prior to the 1930s, and this could be a relic of that era.

Having traveled all over the Empire State, I have seen different ways of posting routes and distances. In the 19th Century, and even before then, there were mile markers along various post roads and other turnpikes, a few of which still exist today. There are a few more recent markers that are made of cement or some similar compound.

I figured I would open the question to anyone that may have some insight. Comments are appreciated...

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