As early as the 17th century, rules dictated that public roads should have milestones. Local landowners were responsible for road repairs, and roadside maintenance stones were erected to keep order.
The Barksätter milestone probably dates from the 18th century. It is badly damaged. Only the plinth survives intact. A little further along the road, by Najstugan croft, stands a road maintenance stone. It marks the boundary of Barksätter’s obligation.The stone is carved ‘BARKSÄTTER’
Milestones consisted of a plinth with a main stone on top. They were usually carved with a royal emblem, a date, and ‘1 mil’, ‘1/2 mil or ‘1/4 mil’. (One Swedish mile or mil is equivalent to 10 km.) In the 19th century, milestones were often replaced with cast-iron signs bearing the county governor’s name.The Barksätter milestone, standing by the road to Vingåker, is probably of 18th-century date. It consists of an unmortared granite plinth that supports the milestone itself, which is made of limestone. The plinth is in reasonable condition, despite missing some stones. The milestone itself is somewhat worse for wear. It is now broken into several pieces, leaving no trace of the text.
The stone once stood just under a metre tall, narrowing towards the top, with a rounded peak. The text read ‘1 mil’.
Well into the 20th century, farmers and other landowners were responsible for repairing the roads. The county governor would check the work had been carried out, and roadside maintenance stones identified those responsible for each stretch of highway.
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