This museum boasts both an entertaining and educational collection that pays homage to those who designed, erected poles, buried lines, and constructed telephone systems worldwide. Housed within an old telephone building, the collection boasts one of the largest collections in North America.

Archives at this facility house unique original volumes including vintage telephone directories and technical manuals, along with crank wall phones and decorator phones from bygone years. Visitors may also discover crank wall phones or decorator phones from this era.

The Museum of Independent Telephony

In 1990, a small group of retired and active telephone employees formed the Telecommunications History Group (THG). Alarmed by reports that historical items were being lost due to building relocation, department closure or personnel changes, they decided to form the non-profit Gridley Museum of Independent Telephony that has since grown significantly since.

The museum features a recreation of an old telephone exchange, with displays of glass insulators and antique phones from yesteryear. Additionally, this tribute pays homage to all the many small independent telephone companies which came into being after Alexander Graham Bell’s patent rights expired in the mid-1890s, serving much of rural America with telephone service.

The museum features an impressive collection of original hand-crank wall phones installed by local farm families, in addition to an operating manual switchboard equipped with Step-by-Step private automatic branch exchange and an extensive assortment of rotary dial phone systems.

The Roseville Telephone Company

Roseville Telephone Museum chronicles a century of communications technology. Spanning 4,500-square feet, this museum displays one of the nation’s finest collections of antique telephones and equipment from early switchboards to novelty phones – sure to engage visitors of any age or technical background! Professional curators guide visitors through these exhibits, creating an entertaining and educational experience. From early switchboards to novelty phones – every visit here offers something new!

Before opening to the public in 1994, this company spent five years collecting and curating various types of telephones and equipment from both domestic and international manufacturers. Additionally, their museum features an impressive display of colorful line insulators.

Today, the museum serves as a research facility for SureWest Telecommunications Company. The facility makes for an enjoyable family outing or school field trip destination; knowledgeable docents–current or retired employees volunteering their time–are on hand to guide visitors through the exhibits.

The Oklahoma Museum of Telephone History

Oklahoma City boasts numerous national-caliber museums such as the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, but the local area also features niche museums – one being Oklahoma Telephone Museum which showcases more than 100 years of telephones and telecom memorabilia. Old-fashioned switchboards from when callers spoke with operators before placing calls can also be found here, as well as tools used for installation and maintenance purposes – like wax pots for dipping spliced cables; stretchers to tighten cables; Wheatstone bridges were used to measure resistance – to pinpoint trouble spots quickly!

Bob McCoy, who retired as an engineer for Southwestern Bell, donated part of his collection to this museum at 111 Dean A McGee Avenue; today it contains thousands of items that show how telephone technology has developed over time. Admission is free.

The New Hampshire Telephone Museum

The New Hampshire Telephone Museum in Warner, NH began as the personal collections of several people with careers in telecommunications. Today it boasts an astounding array of over 1000 artifacts providing an invaluable look into communications technology evolution.

The museum houses everything from switchboards and rotary phones, wooden wall-mount telephones and phone booths. Candlestick phones and the first flip phones as well as novelty princess phones can be found. Furthermore, this museum reflects how design trends changed when plastic phones became widely available.

Laura French, director of the museum, loves to highlight that many advances in telecommunications occurred in approximately 150 years – from Alexander Graham Bell’s accidental invention of the telephone in 1876 all the way through to today’s advanced smart phones and wireless devices. It serves as an important reminder of just how far our world has progressed since 1876!

This museum preserves telecommunication history through working rotary dialers, manual switchboards, linemen’s pole climbing stirrups, an impressive collection of fun phones, and much more – one of North America’s premier telephone museums!

Our Telephone Workshops promote an interest in engineering by teaching children and adults electrical theory, screw driving skills and historical technical events in an interactive learning environment.

Educational Programs

The Museum offers an engaging history lesson of telecommunications technology and systems from Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows Frame Phone to Thomas A Watson’s Thumper Phone as well as modern mobile phones in use today. Additionally, museum exhibits feature manual switchboards, working telecommunications equipment for linemen’s use as well as an impressive collection of glass insulators among many other interesting artifacts.

School outreach programs focus on community issues and skills that directly affect student lives. Museum educators collaborate with classroom teachers to conduct lessons that meet social studies curriculum standards.

Telephone Workshops aim to spark participants’ interest in engineering by using historical telecommunications artifacts as hands-on learning environments for exploring electricity and electric theory. These workshops promote STEM by cultivating and encouraging participants’ inherent curiosity – such as that which drove Alexander Graham Bell in creating his telecommunications inventions – as well as providing an appreciation of engineering in the workplace.

Community Outreach

The Telephone Historical Centre is one of North America’s premier telephone museums. Established by retired ED TEL employees in December 1987 in Old Strathcona, it later relocated to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre where visitors can take group and individual tours as well as interactive exhibits that illustrate communications principles alongside an outstanding multi-media historical telecommunications theatre show!

Museum visitors experience an exciting journey into the history of communications technology and systems – from Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop to modern mobile phones. Visitors can explore a manual switchboard, step inside a replica of a local small town Midwest independent telephone exchange and admire HBEC staff and CAB members’ collection of glass insulators. Due to cancellation of in-person research events and health education during Covid-19 pandemic, they designed this telephone outreach project as a means of keeping registry participants engaged; callers collected data on their experiences during pandemic as well as recommended resources tailored specifically towards participants’ expressed needs.

Corporate Events

Established by retired employees of ED TEL in 1987, this non-profit 501c (3) museum collects, researches, organizes, documents, and displays telephone equipment from across North America. As one of North America’s premier telephone museums, its specialty lies in working equipment that illustrates tangible aspects of telecom history ranging from Alexander Graham Bell’s wall-mount phone to pocket mobile phones of today.

The museum provides students and adults with an engaging way to gain an understanding of communications technology. Visitors can step inside an authentic Step-by-Step private automatic branch exchange demonstrating its stepping switch principle; explore an old-fashioned rotary dial phone and manual switchboard; or browse a collection of telephone insulators.

The Museum is managed entirely by volunteers, who oversee all aspects of its facility. Volunteer opportunities range from giving tours and overseeing youth activities to cataloguing artifacts professionally – some positions even require formal artifact handling training as well as experience working within libraries or teaching environments.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers of various skills and experiences are needed at our museum. From helping maintain its cleanliness to staffing the reception desk or greeting tour groups, as well as performing clerical work or sales at our museum store and general duties – there’s plenty of ways you can assist us!

Docents from museums across Atlanta provide guided tours for visitors of the History Center, Brookside Museum and outdoor exhibits. In addition, museum docents participate in educational outreach programs that bring the museum directly into schools and nursing homes.

Artifact assistants work alongside collection management staff in cleaning, cataloguing and preparing museum objects for display. In addition, they assist with genealogy research using the Society’s vast resources to uncover family histories.

The Museum houses an impressive selection of wooden wall-mount telephones; antique manual and candlestick phones; rotary dial phones and switchboards as well as line insulators and related equipment – an intriguing display of western Pennsylvania heritage! Volunteers engage children of all ages through this fascinating display of heritage.