Do you go out of your way to avoid tolls? How far? Would you trailblaze a road around one?

In 1802, the Scarborough Turnpike Corporation built a road across Scarborough Marsh, from Dunstan to Oak Hill, the current path of Route 1. They charged travelers to use it. In fact, the “Cumberland Turnpike” was the first in New England.

Because it reduced the travel time to Portland and points north, many were willing to pay the price: 8 cents for horses and 25 cents for stagecoaches. In today’s dollars, that would be $2.31 and $5.32, respectively. Josiah Paine, owner of a stagecoach company, objected. At his own expense, he built a road inland to avoid the toll. It is unclear how much that cost and whether it saved him money, but it bought him street-sign immortality. His route is now “Payne Road.” In contrast, the turnpike was removed in 1855.

Sources: Bruce Thurlow, “Roads: From footpaths to superhighways,” Scarborough Historical Society, 10 October 2016; Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.