In the 18th century, the main road between Boston and New York was known as the Great Country Road, or the Upper Post Road . It passed through Waltham in the

centre of the town, on what is now Sudbury Road. It was heavily traveled by Massachusetts traders, as well by folks on the mail coach stagecoach heading west from Boston. Many fine taverns offered food, drink and lodging, a welcome sight to weary travelers.

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On 10 August 1774 John Adams departed Boston for Philadelphia, traveling with Robert Treat Paine, Thomas Cushing, and Samuel Adams. Together, they were Massachusetts’s delegation to the First Continental Congress. In the mail-coach, they travelled with Adams to take the oath as President of the United States.

It was a long, slow ride, so they took advantage of travel opportunities by stopping in villages, towns, and cities on the way. 

Daniel Webster and Samuel Dexter, when they first went to Congress, breakfasted in the old tavern on Ball's Hill, in its day one of the most important taverns in Massachusetts. 

it was famous for its good cheer, and frequented by the Strattons, Rutters, Smiths, its constant guests, particularly at night, in the times when card-playing was not looked upon as a vice.

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The first retailer of strong liquors was Jonathan Hammond in 1739. The Inns continued to increase and in 1765, with a population of 663, there were 6 taverns. by 1798, there were only 5, and they began to fall away. On Main Street was the Bemis Tavern owned by Isaac Bemis in 1798, later occupied by a Mr. Stratton and called the Stratton Tavern (on Stone Street).

 

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In 1789, two distinguished citizens of the infant Republic passed through Waltham along the Great Country Road. In April, Vice President-elect John Adams stopped at the Stratton Tavern on Weston Street for breakfast as he journeyed from Boston to New York to his inauguration. Then In October, President George Washington was escorted through Waltham to Cambridge by the Waltham Cavalry Troop.

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In 1800, the population was about 900, living mainly in farm houses (in the district known as Trapelo and Pond End), scattered throughout the area. The first government mail contract was awarded to a stage line in 1785,

 

and by the early 1800s, holidays provided excitement in Waltham, and July 4th brought parades. Bells were rung and cannons were fired. October 19th, the anniversary of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, was a major holiday. All roads led to Waltham and people would come early in all kinds of vehicles and stay during the day. Bakers' carts, packed with pies, gingerbread and seed cakes, and venders of candy, popped corn and peanuts. The great attraction was the military gathering, where a stalwart young man would impersonate Lord Cornwallis. Then came the British redcoats, the old Continentals, and the trained militias who would all join the parade, then hold reenactment fights in the fields.

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