The Telephone Historical Centre is a non-profit society established to acquire, research, organize, document, exhibit and store materials related to telecommmunications history in Edmonton. Group and individual tours; multi-media historical Telecommunications Theatre Show; reference library with over one century of local telephone directories and technical manuals are just some of the features it offers visitors.
The Jefferson Telecom Museum
The Jefferson Telecom Museum is an engaging, educational destination that fosters an interest in science and technology. The museum features working central office switch equipment; outdoor plant displays with poles, wire and splicing equipment; antique telephones and decorator phones; crank wall phones that ring, dial, allow users to whisper personal secrets into their mouthpieces for privacy; as well as hundreds of pieces of communication equipment and tools.
The museum provides guided tours that give guests an interactive experience with its history, giving them firsthand knowledge of how telephones were once operated decades ago. There’s even a two-position Kellogg universal telephone switch so visitors can manually connect calls as well as exhibits like party lines (where four housewives shared one circuit for gossiping purposes) and hush-a-phones (which allowed guests to privately whisper conversations into handsets for privacy).
The Jefferson Telecom Museum is run by retired employees of ED TEL and volunteers and was previously located at an old phone exchange building in Old Strathcona. However, due to space limitations it now operates in Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton.
The Roseville Telephone Museum
Roseville Telephone Museum was created by retired employees from ED TEL in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to give visitors an interactive experience and showcase communications history. Visitors are given hands-on interaction with this museum’s collection. Attractions at this museum include operating Central Office step switches and operator switchboards, antique wooden wall phones with working Central Office step switches and operator switchboards, working crank phone ringers, candlestick wall phones, and hush-a-phones (which allow users to whisper secrets into their mouthpieces for privacy). The museum features one of North America’s largest reference libraries, outdoor plant displays featuring poles/wires/splicing equipment and poles/wires/splicing equipment and celebrates telecommunications pioneers through stories of invention, innovation and dedication.
The Telecom Pioneers of Old Strathcona
On December 3rd 1987, this museum in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona neighbourhood opened its doors and showcased an original telephone collection, including Gallows Frame Telephones by Thomas A Watson’s Thumper Phone and Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 Patent Telephone. Furthermore, working Central Office step switches and operator switchboards, candlestick wall phones desk telephones as well as poles cables and splicing equipment were displayed for outdoor viewing by retired ED TEL employees who offer group tours to students, school groups and sightseeing tour operators alike; donations are gratefully accepted so the museum can continue sharing history enthusiasts alike.
