History Spotlight
Toll House No. 5 by Doug Humes
There was once a border between Marple and Newtown where people were held up every day. The highwayman who made travelers “stand and deliver” there? Toll House No. 5. The structure, a small roadside house with a large pole that blocked the street, was part of the West Chester Turnpike, connecting West Philadelphia and Newtown Square. There was no state highway department back then, so the roads were not well maintained. In winter, they were impassable with mud and ruts; in summer, with dust and ruts.
Each toll road had its own design for milestones Photo courtesy of the Marple Historical Society
Postcard of Toll Gate 5, with pike open Photo courtesy of the Marple Historical Society
In 1848, local businessmen decided to form a corporation to improve the road – initially using wooden planks. To pay for these improvements, a toll was charged, at five toll houses between Philadelphia and Newtown Square. An early history reported that in 1897, Toll House 5, near the 10th milestone, was being kept by William Edwards. When a traveler approached, he would stop at the “pike” that blocked his path. The toll keeper would come out, collect the toll, and then turn the pike, to allow the traveler to pass. The act gave rise to the name of this private road: a turnpike.
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Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors
March 2021
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