The Museum features an expansive array of telephone equipment and is the ideal stop for family outings, school field trips and sightseeing itineraries.
This exhibition chronicles the development of communications from its infancy in the late 18th century through to present day technology. Highlights include Edmonton’s unique telephone history and pioneers.
The Collection
The collection represents the history of telephone technology from its infancy with Alexander Graham Bell to more recent technological innovations in telecom. It is one of the world’s largest collections of telephone equipment.
The museum provides visitors with interactive stations that give them hands-on experience using early telecommunication technologies like wall-mounted hand-crank magneto phones and manual switchboards from Edmonton’s rich telecom history, offering an opportunity to witness communication innovation as it begins its path forward. These stations highlight Edmonton’s role in this evolution.
AT&T Archives contain materials that highlight its long and distinguished history as a corporate and research activity, beginning from its 19th-century origins as the Bell System monopoly. Led by Sheldon Hochheiser – an expert AT&T corporate historian who generously shared some of his vast knowledge with me for this project* – these Archives house an array of material documenting this history.
The Archives
Archives contain an abundance of information regarding the early development of telephone. One such collection includes Thomas Watson’s notebook from 1870s-1880s when he tested his invention, recording when intelligible speech transmission took place successfully.
Our collection also boasts old city directories dating from 1895 up until today* as well as technical manuals for equipment, networks and services – providing invaluable resources for students, researchers and anyone else interested in the history and development of telecom technology.
Archive Collection features numerous artifacts from Edmonton’s rich telephone history, such as wall-mounted hand-crank magneto phones, rotary dial phones and manual switchboards. A two-position Kellogg Universal switchboard also serves as an interactive visitor display allowing visitors to connect circuits between cord pairs and lamp pairs using toggle switches; red Telephone Kiosks were once found across Britain as part of this collection.
The Education Centre
The Education Centre serves as a hub for research, education and exhibition of the museum’s vast collections. Featuring vintage phone directories; social and technical manuals dating back to 1800s; as well as other reference materials related to telecommunications technology and history – it provides the ideal foundation for discovery!
Visitors to the museum can explore classic rotary dial phones and an intricate panel switchboard, touch antique line insulators, and discover other artifacts highlighting how telecommunications have progressed from Alexander Graham Bell’s solid wood wall-mounted devices with operator direction to today’s multifunctional mobile devices. Exhibits demonstrate creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation that led to modern connectivity while inspiring entrepreneurial spirits that drive future technological developments.
Established by retired telecom employees, this unique museum in Roseville houses one of North America’s finest collections of old telephone equipment. These include working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switch equipment; operator switchboards; outside plant displays including poles, wire and splicing tools; as well as an extensive telephone reference library.
The Events Centre
Attraction Description: As the oldest complete telephone museum west of the Mississippi, this fascinating attraction presents more than 100 years of communications technology history. Crafted to both inspire and entertain visitors of all ages, the museum makes for an enjoyable family outing, school field trip or group sightseeing tour destination. Exhibits trace communication’s progression from Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 invention up until modern mobile phones today.
This facility showcases antique wooden box phones and candlestick wall phones; classic rotary dial telephones; working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switchboards; outdoor plant displays featuring poles, cables and splicing equipment; as well as a large library of telecom books and catalogs. Furthermore, one of Canada’s largest collections of telephone kiosks can also be found here; from London-style red models to Edmonton’s own unique Strowger kiosks!
The Telephone Historical Centre’s mission is to pay tribute to generations of men and women who built and maintained America’s phone lines through both guided tours and self-guided experiences. Furthermore, its archives contain an impressive collection of vintage telephone directories; technical manuals; and other related material from across its telecommunications history.
