This museum provides an ideal venue for exploring old phones, switch equipment and other communications devices from decades past. Their collection includes working Panel and Step-by-Step automatic branch exchanges as well as outside plant displays that feature poles, cables, splicing tools and antique phones.

This renovated 1920s cotton warehouse houses an extensive collection of telecommunications memorabilia. Exhibits include an exact replica of the phone used to announce President McKinley’s assassination as well as novelty telephones from the 1950s.

Opening Hours

The museum features an impressive variety of telephones dating back to their invention by Alexander Graham Bell in 1878. Ranging from rotary dial and party line phones to military field telephones and even replicas of McKinley phones that reported his assassination, there’s sure to be something here that’ll fascinate both children and adults.

Communications Technology Museum brings history alive through interactive exhibits and displays, along with hosting special events throughout the year.

The museum boasts working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, antique telephones and switchboards, outside plant displays with poles, cables and splicing equipment as well as an impressive cataloged telecommunications reference library – making this an invaluable history lesson! Open Tuesday to Friday; timed entry tickets must be purchased either online or by phone prior to visiting.

Guided Tours

Calling home, whether that means Philadelphia or Florida, feels like making magic happen. Even more so when seeing some of the equipment behind it all – an experience only further enhanced at The Telephone Museum where visitors can explore hands-on exhibits and self-guided tours at their own pace.

The museum provides an in-depth history of telecommunications and highlights major moments in its development, such as racing to patent office or being invented dial system by undergarer. With more than 1000 artifacts such as wall-mount telephones, candlesticks and operator switchboards on display here – you are bound to experience all that this industry offers!

Visit the New Mexico Museum of Telephony to reminisce on its early days as a phone service provider. Run on a volunteer basis, this museum boasts an expansive collection of telephone-related items from manual operator switchboards to military telephones dating from World War I through Gulf War. There’s even an authentic telephone pole complete with climbing equipment – and over 300 pieces of tools and machinery used by telecom professionals themselves!

Gift Shop

The Museum offers a vast collection of telephone equipment and memorabilia that allows visitors to explore the past by engaging with these items. You will learn about the development of telephone technology from its solid wood, wall mounted, hand cranked designs of days gone by to today’s pocket-sized, touch screen celluar phones.

The collection features a fully functional hands-on switchboard, crank wall phones and decorator phones as well as replicas of early telephones like Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows Frame Telephone and Thomas A. Watson’s Thumper Phone from their respective eras. Furthermore, Dominion Telegraph Agent Alexander Taylor brought one into Edmonton.

Other artifacts at the museum include an exhibit of telephones used along Route 66 and historical photographs showing their work as linemen and telephone workers throughout New Mexico. A visit here would make an excellent history lesson, telecommucation lesson or just family outing experience – plus there’s even a gift shop with unique telephone-related items!

The Telephone Historical Centre was founded by retired ED TEL employees in 1987 as Edmonton’s only telephone museum, housing an extensive collection of telephones and back-end switchboards dating from 1901-1970.

The Museum features old phones made of wood (as shown below), metal, Bakelite and more. There is also a workbench where visitors can dismantle phones to learn more about their history.

Edmonton Museum

In Edmonton, Alberta’s history is on full display at the Museum at the Telephone Historical Centre – a cultural hub which recognizes its past through over 2.4 million unique Alberta stories that await to be told here. Offering many galleries for all kinds of interests and catering to various interests.

The Museum at the Telephone Historical Centre offers visitors a hands-on museum experience. Group and individual tours are offered, along with exhibits that explore telecommunications history; there is even a collection of historic directories dating back to 1906!

The Royal Alberta Museum is open year round, and features various programs throughout its year-long exhibition schedule. One highlight is the Alberta Railway Museum which recreates a nineteenth century Strathcona railway station as well as historical cars. Furthermore, other exhibitions explore Alberta history and culture while children will especially love its bug collection!

New Hampshire Telephone Museum

Warner, New Hampshire hosts this museum that provides an in-depth view into the development of communications. Their collection ranges from old hand-crank wall phones and working switchboards to displays of linemen’s tools; there is even an unusual giant wooden phone booth as well as components from Alexander Graham Bell’s original device!

The New Hampshire Telephone Museum was established in 2005 and managed by Paul Violette, grandson of Alderic O. “Dick” Violette of Bartlett family of Connecticut; together they worked in telecommunications industry for more than 85 years. Additionally, Garry Mitchell from Woodbury CT provided his expertise, as well as gifts from public members who donated objects. Approximately 1000 artifacts currently form its collection of over 1,000 items on display.

The exhibits at this museum illustrate the progression of telecommunication technology from its infancy – with switchboards and rotary dial phones to modern smart devices that have revolutionized our lives – to where it stands now with guided tours and interactive demonstrations that delve deep into its rich narrative.

Oklahoma Museum of Telephone History

Visit this museum can be an exciting adventure for the whole family, boasting an extensive collection of old telephones and communication equipment as well as various exhibits that highlight Oklahoma’s rich history such as wrestling, aviation and Native American heritage. A visit here would make an excellent learning opportunity! The Oklahoma History & Culture Museum makes for an engaging learning experience about Oklahoma history and culture!

There are museums where it could take an entire day to go through all their collections; this museum, however, is more suited for quick visits of two hours or so.

This collection spans the early days of telecom, including an original switchboard seen in black-and-white movies as well as rotary phones and historical memorabilia from that era. There are also novelty phones such as those featuring Garfield or Mickey Mouse characters.

Museum of Independent Telephony

The Museum of Independent Telephony (MIT), situated in Gridley, Illinois offers an awe-inspiring exhibit of telephone memorabilia and equipment which highlights the development of communication services across rural Illinois.

After Alexander Graham Bell’s patents expired, many small cities, towns and rural areas demanded telephone service. To meet this demand, local telephone companies emerged independent from Bell – there are now over 6,000 independent telephone companies operating across America and MIT offers a fascinating history lesson through a collection of antique phones, insulators, and switchboards from these independent service providers.

Fort Concho National Historic Landmark’s Museum of Telephone (MIT) features a collection of donated telephone equipment collected by retired telephone workers who organized as a non-profit to open it as a museum. Visitors can explore it via interactive displays or even play operator. Countless candlestick phones and box phones line each room, along with rotary dial phones and even an operating private automatic branch exchange that still works!

The Collection originated with telephone workers deciding to preserve examples of outmoded equipment that would otherwise have been disposed of, and has grown into an extensive archive of Bell Canada artifacts.

Discover Alberta’s telephone story – its equipment, competitions and people during this vibrant era when its Province was still evolving.

Museum of Independent Telephony

The museum houses an assortment of antique telephones, switches and insulators from across history as well as its effect on world events. Curated by AT&T corporate historian Sheldon Hochheiser and featuring many original documents related to early development of telephone technology.

Fort Concho National Historic Landmark’s Officers’ Quarters No. 4 houses this museum that displays artifacts spanning from 19th-century telephones to modern phones as well as an interactive display that illustrates their effects and how it changed our lives.

Gridley, Illinois holds a remarkable gem. Rogers Kaufman, former president of the Gridley Telephone Company, had long collected historical items and records and dreamed of creating a museum to house them. To examine its viability, a group was assembled with members from local libraries, businesses, political figures, mayor and city council as members who joined Mr. Kaufman to form an endowment fund for his museum project.

Roseville Telephone Company Museum

Roseville Telephone Company Museum presented by SureWest Communications offers an unrivalled combination of history, entertainment, and education in one convenient package. Visitors are treated to one of the nation’s largest collections of antique telephones and memorabilia from colored glass insulators to novelty phones; truly an enjoyable experience for all the senses.

Alec Switzer, the museum administrator, guides visitors through its exhibits to give them an understanding of life before cell phones and cordless phones were widespread. He even displays one of the first switchboards ever used back in 1914 that still functions!

The museum is an excellent way to spend a weekend outing or school field trip with children – both are fantastic activities in their own right! And be sure to visit Roseville again sometime soon so you don’t miss this awesome destination – be sure to stop by the museum – you won’t regret it!

Oklahoma Museum of Telephone History

Oklahoma City’s Museum of Communication Technology depicts the evolution of communication technology over time through its vast collection of antique telephones from all eras – rotary phones to push buttons – that document how telephone technology has progressed since their origin.

The museum showcases telephone items dating back to 1900, such as switchboards, crank wall phones and decorator phones. Furthermore, there is a collection of tools used by linemen when working on wires such as wax pots for dipping the spliced cable; stretchers to tighten wires; and Wheatstone bridges which measured resistance on a wire to pinpoint trouble spots.

The museum provides educational programs and events to its visitors, which helped transform Clinton into the international Route 66 Festival in 2007. Furthermore, special tours for schools and students are arranged. As it operates as a non-profit entity it relies on donations for operations.

Hello Montreal!

Hello Montreal!, created by Pointe-a-Calliere in partnership with Bell, offers visitors a fun and entertaining journey into how telephones have transformed our way of communicating over the last 140 years. Showcasing rare and valuable items from Bell’s Historical Collections such as rotary-dial telephones and oversize models as well as historical photos, documents and musical excerpts – Hello Montreal! is sure to enthrall!

This exhibit shows how quickly telephone technology became an integral part of everyday life in Montreal during a time when wooden sidewalks, horse-drawn trams and gaslights were still widespread. By 1922, 6 per cent of Montreal households had telephones, necessitating armies of operators to meet its growing demands. Women began using telephones for shopping groceries online or calling doctors; other uses included ordering their prescriptions or just connecting with friends – these early uses have had a dramatic impact on Canadian history – yet its technological marvel continues playing an invaluable part today in our lives today!

The museum houses an impressive collection of telephones and equipment for children to learn more about telecommunications history. It is an engaging place where both adults and children can come together.

Roseville Telephone Museum showcases an extensive collection of antique phones and associated equipment that chronicles over a century of communication technology in Roseville and internationally. Operating under volunteer oversight, this non-profit museum exhibits over one century of communication history in Roseville and beyond.

General Admission

This telephone museum was established by former Bell System employees and run entirely by volunteers, its purpose being to educate visitors of all ages on the history of telephone industry and its contributions to society.

The museum boasts an original phone dating back to 1878 – two years after Alexander Graham Bell invented them – as well as working central office step switches and operator switches as well as other telephone-related items.

Other exhibits at the museum include a full-scale replica of Alexander Graham Bell’s workshop, a thumper phone, and the actual bell used to notify Thomas Edison of President McKinley’s assassination. Furthermore, there is a collection of telephone-related tools and decorations such as crank wall phones and decorator phones for visitors’ use.

At the museum, your kids can learn all about phone history with an engaging guided tour from one of their knowledgeable guides. Plus, former telco workers can relive their glory days or share memories from the past with family and friends!

Special Events

The Museum of Telecommunications exhibits working equipment which illustrates the tangible history of telecommunications. Its collection traces the development of telephones from 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell first started building them, to modern mobile phones used today.

Since 1987, this non-profit 501(c)(3) museum has been operating within the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Prince of Wales. Established by retired ED TEL employees who founded it together, its many hands-on displays invite exploration by visitors.

Attractions at this museum include an authentic Step-by-Step private automatic branch exchange demonstrating its stepping switch principle, and an exhibit detailing phone technology’s evolution from early mobile phones through modern day cellular telephones. Visitors can even try dialing an old-fashioned rotary telephone! In addition, special events and educational resources for students studying telecom or history take place here as well.

Group Tours

The Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum is housed in a restored 1896 building. Featuring an incredible collection of telephones and memorabilia, this museum also provides many interactive how-things-work exhibits that make for the ideal family outing or group tour experience.

The museum houses a working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switch as well as antique manual, candlestick phones, rotary dial phones, telephone booths, line insulators and related equipment. There is also an operating Step-by-Step private automatic branch exchange demonstrating its stepping switch principle; and an outdoor plant display featuring poles, cables and splicing equipment.

The National History Telephone Museum (NHTM) features over 1000 artifacts related to telephone history. Visitors will enjoy browsing its display of wooden wall-mount and rotary dial telephones – particularly popular among visitors of all ages – along with early switchboards and novelty phones. Operated entirely by volunteers as a non-profit organization.

Volunteer Opportunities

Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum relies heavily on volunteers for many of its services and is always in need of enthusiastic, committed individuals who enjoy working directly with the public. Volunteers are needed to open and close the museum, greet visitors, answer their inquiries, as well as assist with various other tasks.

Volunteers are also needed in the office for cataloguing collections and data entry as well as setting up for special events. Volunteers with experience or education related to telecommunications or history are particularly welcome.

The Museum boasts a collection of telephone artifacts such as switchboards, rotary phones, candlestick phones, wooden wall mount telephones, Princess phones and flip phones that span multiple eras and types. We require volunteers to demonstrate these items during tours as well as staff our booth at Wildrose Antique Show featuring novelty phones such as Spiderman and Ronald McDonald models – so come be part of the fun! Donate today if you would like to volunteer!

The Telephone Historical Centre boasts one of the nation’s premier collections. Visitors can witness early wall phones, operator switchboards and an impressive assortment of novelty telephones on display here.

This section explores two musical themes within telephonic history – public performances of telephones as instruments, and their use as musical performance tools in the 2000s – using Balbi’s philosophy that old and new media must not be studied separately.

The Invention of the Telephone

Telephone technology has become so ubiquitous in our lives today that it is easy to forget that it was once cutting edge technology. Alexander Graham Bell developed it out of a passion to improve communication among deaf people as part of his lifelong quest to help improve society at large.

Bell learned through experimenting with electrified wires that the vibrations produced by speech could be transmitted over distance, providing him with the key for creating long-distance transmission systems based on converting acoustic variations into electric current variations and back into acoustic variations at both ends of his circuits.

Bell worked tirelessly on this project, investing his resources. On 7 March 1876 he received a patent for his invention and although most credit is given to Bell for creating it alone, Italian Antonio Meucci and German inventor Johann Philipp Reis had also contributed their knowledge in creating it prior to him.

The Early Years

The invention of the telephone was an incredible step forward for communications. Alexander Graham Bell’s device enabled individuals to carry conversations over long distances and exchange information more easily; business and industry could use it more efficiently, and even military use was made possible thanks to Bell.

In 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his phone for Queen Victoria. According to reports, she thought it was truly amazing.

Soon afterwards, long-distance telephone lines were built, and subscribers began being identified by numbers rather than names. A common battery system was then introduced, which permitted one central battery to power all telephones within an exchange rather than each having its own separate battery.

Around this time, the first coin-operated telephone was introduced. Resembling a candlestick in design, its transmitter and receiver were combined into one unit to reduce instances of users leaving their phones “off the hook.” It marked the first home telephone that could be used independently from telephone companies.

The Evolution of the Telephone

In the 1800s, the telephone revolutionized our means of communication. While initially resistant to growth and adoption, today it has become an integral component of daily life.

Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray independently developed devices capable of transmitting speech electronically in 1876. Both men rushed to file their invention at the patent office – with Bell making it to file his invention several hours before Gray. A legal battle ensued between them until, ultimately, Bell won out and thus gave birth to what we now refer to as the telephone.

By 1877, the first regular telephone line had been completed, followed shortly afterwards by a workable exchange system allowing calls between subscribers rather than between friends alone. Touch-tone phones and lighted dials also first came about around this time; Henry Dreyfuss designed his groundbreaking Model 302 phone which featured slimmer bases with touchpad buttons marked “*” and “#.” This marked a dramatic departure from earlier designs which were bulky, unwieldy and difficult to operate.

The Future of the Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell received his patent for a telephone in 1876, never could have predicted how it would revolutionize our lives today. It has become an integral component of modern communications networks; translating complex soundwaves into electrical signals for transmission while translating back into audible and understandable speech signals for reception and conversion back to audible transmission.

Telephones have evolved throughout history, improving in terms of reliability, ergonomics and functionality – yet their basic design remains unchanged – providing instantaneous connections with people worldwide.

American cities boast numerous telephone museums that display extensive exhibits at county historical museums or house them in dedicated structures filled with old phones saved from being scrapped – everything from expansive county historical museums to dedicated structures filled with phones saved from being recycled as trash. Some are owned and maintained by passionate private collectors, retired phone company employees or civic groups while others are run by organizations such as Telecommunications History Group which has existed since 1990 and provides curatorial support.