This museum provides an exciting glimpse into the development of communications technology. It boasts an impressive collection of telephones and equipment dating from Alexander Graham Bell’s original box-shaped phone to videophones.
At its center are also working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, operator switchboards and an extensive telecommunications reference library.
The Story of the Telephone
Visit the Telephone Historical Centre to go back in time, where people awaited the arrival of telephone technology and marveled at its ability to connect over distances. Uncover its history through tales from those involved who helped develop it and businesses created around it.
With help from Thomas Watson, a Boston machine shop worker, Bell began honing his prototype. By changing intensity and frequency of electric current, he caused vibrations to be replicated on another instrument connected via wire to his original instrument.
Bell was quickly able to demonstrate conversations between Boston and Somerville – initially over short distances of less than 100 yards, later stretching over hundreds of yards – within months, sparking fierce controversy as to who exactly invented first: Antonio Meucci or Elisha Gray could possibly take more credit. Either way, this marked the birth of modern telecom.
Exhibits
The Museum offers an expansive array of exhibits that depict the long and storied history of communications technology, from Alexander Graham Bell’s original gallows frame telephone (which only five were ever made) to touch-tone dialing on modern cell phones.
The Museum serves as an interactive history archive for global communications infrastructure, featuring working electromechanical central office switching systems and operator switchboards from World War I through Gulf War; antique phones; military telephones from World War I through Gulf War; poles; wire and splicing tools used by our global telecommunication infrastructure; as well as outside plant displays with poles, wire and splicing tools and an extensive telecommunication reference library.
The exhibitions bring to life pivotal moments in telephone history, from when subscribers first heard their name over the phone to videophone invention. Visitors gain an understanding of how this technology has transformed our lives and explored how its presence has had an effect on culture and society – such as when one woman alerted troops of an invasion in New Mexico through texting or instant messaging; or today with texting or instant messaging.
Audio Visual Presentations
The oldest complete telephone museum west of the Mississippi features an outstanding collection of historic telephone equipment. This includes working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switch equipment; operator switchboards; antique phones; outside plant displays with poles, wire and splicing tools; as well as an extensive reference library.
This museum presents exhibits that depict telecommunication innovations since Alexander Graham Bell’s gallows frame phone to touch-tone dialing on modern cell phones, using full-scale mannequins and recorded narration to demonstrate how telecommunication technology evolved throughout time.
At Jefferson Barracks Park Telephone Building, this museum is run by volunteers from Southwestern Bell and AT&T. With more than 1,000 artifacts related to telecom history displayed and public programs tailored for all ages, this exhibit should not be missed by anyone interested in telecom history. Furthermore, its archives contain many documents not found elsewhere museums.
Guided Tours
Visit this museum to gain a greater insight into telecommunications history and its many developments. Enjoy either a group or individual tour to view an extensive collection of antique telephones, switchboards and related items from bygone eras. Established by retired ED TEL employees themselves, this treasure trove now holds over 1000 artifacts!
The Museum offers an educational experience for visitors of all ages, as it explores the impact that communication technology has had on our lives from early switchboards to smartphones. Visitors will discover a host of photographs and memorabilia depicting its history from early switchboards through modern smartphones. It serves as an important reminder of just how essential technology has become in daily life.
The museum can be found at 1 Depot Street in Warner, just minutes away from Henniker. Entrance to this free facility with ADA-compliant facilities is completely free; tours are offered throughout the day as well as through its Traveling Trunks program that brings artifacts of communications technology directly into schools and communities.
