The Telephone Historical Centre Collections provide visitors with an enchanting array of antique telephones and research documents about telecommunication technology that they can interact with through hands-on exhibits. Their archives contain over three and a half million documents and 25K pieces of equipment – sure to engage any visitor!
Collections at this museum include rotary dial wall phones and manual system phones imported to Edmonton in 1885; working Central Office step switches as well as operable switchboards from optimally functioning Central Offices; as well as an extensive library cataloged telecommunications books.
Hands-on Exhibits
From Alexander Graham Bell’s original phone to videophones, this museum’s collection illustrates how technology has progressed over more than 100 years. Exhibits also recognize and pay tribute to generations of workers who created America’s telecommunication infrastructure by erecting poles, burying cables and developing technological solutions.
Visitors can explore the history of telecommunications through interactive exhibits featuring antique telephone equipment and research documents including scrapbooks and binders from at-risk scrapbooks and biners. The museum displays rotary dial wall phones, novelty Princess phones, candlestick wall phones and manual system telephones imported to Edmonton in 1885 as well as working Central Office step switches including operator panels and crossbar electromechanical switching; outside plant displays of antique line insulators/pole splicing tools and an extensive library with unique phone publications.
This museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, supported by active and retired AT&T, Southwestern Bell and Northern Electric employees and their families. Donations go toward ongoing restoration efforts at Gridley Museum Building as well as its historic collections; future plans include refurbishing Clinton C.O (last Step-by-Step Private Automatic Branch Exchange in Maine), two position Kellogg Universal switchboard and outdoor display of poles, lines and insulators.
Antique Telephones
From Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of telephony through to modern day rotary dial phones and beyond, this museum showcases all phases of telecom history. Families, school groups, and sightseeing tours from across America regularly visit this museum to gain more knowledge on telecommunications while viewing antique central office step switches and operator switchboards that have given way to automated switching systems and customer-dialed phones.
Antique telephones from different eras offer something special to collectors. Some classic styles such as those seen during the 1930s and 1940s remain in use today, such as rotary dial phones.
Early telephones were wooden wall phones like this Kellogg model from the late 1800s. These hefty devices contained magneto, or electric generator, and included a switch hook to hang up receiver. Other early designs included wood-slat cabinets with three separate boxes or European style Jydsk phones; later as design preferences changed and other rooms of the home became preferred, telephones began moving from being wall-based devices into other parts of the house such as bedrooms or kitchens.
Manual System Telephones
As part of its collection, the telephone museum features several manual system phones. These were once utilized by switchboard operators at telephone exchanges before automated switching and customer dialing were introduced.
They had two types of manual cord boards (a No. 3 and No. 5 crossbar switch) which they showed me how they worked by allowing me to make calls between them and with other switches in the museum. Their older cord board used small light bulbs to indicate call status while their more advanced one employed both ringing and tone signals that mimic an electronic switching system (ESS).
The Telephone Historical Centre provides an ideal opportunity to gain an in-depth knowledge of telecommunications. It documents innovations from Alexander Graham Bell through modern pocket phones; pays tribute to generations of workers who erect poles, lay cables and manage technology; and has an impressive library containing rare telephone publications.
Research Documents
The Telephone Historical Centre stands out from other telephone museums by giving visitors the chance to engage directly with antique phones and equipment from yesteryear while honoring the skill and innovation of linemen who built poles and laid cable. This unique museum in Roseville, Alberta includes rotary dial wall phones and novelty Princess phones; manual system telephones imported to Edmonton in 1885; working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches and operator switchboards as well as outside plant displays of poles cables and tools as well as an extensive catalogued telecom reference library and much more!
This collection of Rockville Centre telephone directories (1923-1957, with gaps) gives insight into early operations at the company as well as individual’s professions and whether or not they owned their own homes. Microfilm copies and the Research Catalogue versions are also available; with more documents from contributors worldwide being added constantly.
