How did Toll Gate High School and Drum Rock Elementary School get named? We found out
Thousands of students have passed through the halls of Toll Gate High School and Drum Rock Elementary School since they opened in 1971, but how many people know how the schools were named?
One What and Why RI reader was struck by curiosity over the names of Toll Gate Road and Toll Gate High School, and they also asked where and what is the Drum Rock the elementary school was named after.
We did some digging, and here's what we found out.
What’s the history of Toll Gate Road?
Around 1820, the New London Turnpike, today known as New London Avenue, was built through the village of Westcott to better connect the mills in West Warwick with commercial centers such as Providence and New London, according to research compiled by the Society of Stukely Westcott Descendants of America.
The Westcott family lived at 341 Providence St., right in the middle of where Providence Street, New London Avenue and Toll Gate Road come together. A small two-room toll house was set across from the Westcott houses as the toll house for Toll Gate Road, according to the preliminary Historic and Architectural Resources Report for West Warwick, completed in 1979.
The toll was a half gate, according to the book "These Plantations." The toll is no longer there.
How did Toll Gate High School get its name?
When the school complex was nearing completion in 1970, the school board decided to hold an essay contest to pick a name for the school. The contest was open to everyone, but most essays were submitted by students.
Because the school complex was on Toll Gate Road, it was little surprise when the committee picked that option for the name of the high school. In fact, the decision only merited a one-sentence mention in a Providence Journal article about how the schools on the complex were named.
Instead, the article focused on Winman Middle School, which was named after “Frank H. ‘Pop’ Winman, a one-armed janitor who worked 34 years in the school before his death in 1957,” the article said. The committee thought naming the middle school after Winman would recognize and honor the ordinary people who do a good job every day.
Back to Toll Gate: In later years, longtime Warwick School Superintendent Bob Shapiro, who was also the first principal of the school, filled in some of the details of why the selection committee picked Toll Gate.
When the entire complex of schools was named after Shapiro in 2012, the acting Warwick superintendent at the time, Richard D’Agostino, told The Warwick Beacon more about why the name was picked, saying it paid tribute to the Colonial concept of toll gates passing people from one level or colony to another.
“Bob envisioned having teachers instead of merchants, and exchanging knowledge instead of goods, in order to provide a fruitful education for students so they might be successful when leaving Toll Gate,” D’Agostino told The Beacon.
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What is Drum Rock?
Drum rock is literally a large rock in Warwick that was positioned on top of another rock in such a way that it could be rocked to create a loud, distinctive sound that could be heard for miles. Many believe the rock was used as a signaling device by Native American tribes.
Where can you find Drum Rock?
Drum rock can be found near the Cowesett Hills Apartments, located approximately at 201-693 Cowesett Hills Apartment Road. One thing to note: The rock has been readjusted on its base so it can’t make the booming sound it was known for. It was moved, according to the website visitwarwickri.com, “because it made too much noise for nearby neighbors. “
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How did Drum Rock Elementary School get its name?
Drum Rock Elementary School was christened in the same essay contest that helped name the other schools in the complex. It was one of many entries that paid tribute to prominent sites in Warwick.
What and Why RI is a weekly feature by The Providence Journal to explore our readers' curiosity. If you have a question about Rhode Island, big or small, email it to klandeck@gannett.com. She loves a good question.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How were Toll Gate High School and Drum Rock Elementary School named?
