Links

The Invention of the Telephone

A great summary covering the invention and early development of the telephone.

The History of Telecommunication

A fantastic timeline of communication innovation over the last 2600+ years of human history. From drum and smoke signals, to the Internet.

Old Telephones As Entertainment

One our favorites on the web. Avery informative and fun site about the history and variations of many of our favorite phones. Be sure to stop by the Telephone Curiosities, Why did they do that and Phones in Color! Sections as my personal highlights

Telephone Museum - Ellsworth, Maine

OUR MISSION is to demonstrate the social and technical significance of the telephone network from 1876 to the present, using working equipment to provide tangible, operable evidence of an evolving technology. WE CELEBRATE the inventiveness, craftsmanship, ingenuity and industry of the telecommunications community through educational programs, exhibits, and special events.

Telephone Museum - Warner, NH

Discover 130 years of telephone history at one of our country's finest exhibits of antique telephones and equipment. This educational resource will take you back to the days when people talked to operators, strung phone lines on trees to their neighbors' houses and listened to other peoples' conversations on party lines.

Telephone Museum - Prince Edward Island, Eastern Canada

On this page, you will find a history of telephone communication on Prince Edward Island, and notes and articles pertaining to the telephone on P.E.I. I will be adding more as information of interest is gathered.

Telephone Historical Centre - Edmonton, Alberta, Western Canada

See, hear and do at one of the most enjoyable attractions in Edmonton! This Telephone Historical Centre is the largest of its type in North America. Perfect for all ages. A special highlight is our multi-media presentation featuring Xeldon, the talking robot and great historical footage of Edmonton.

Cyber Telephone Museum - (online only)

An Exhibit of Common & Rare Antique Telephones

Antique Telephone Collectors Association

The Antique Telephone Collectors Association, or ATCA, is the largest telephone collectors organization in the world. Chartered in 1971 as a non-profit corporation by the state of Kansas, its over 1500 active members are located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Telephone Collectors International

Telephone Collectors International is an organization of telephone collectors, hobbyists and historians who are helping to preserve the history of the telecommunications industry through the collection of telephones and telephone related material. Our collections represent all aspects of the industry; from the very first wooden prototypes that started the industry to the technological marvels that made the automatic telephone exchange possible.

Telephone Museum - Atlanta, GA

The BellSouth Telephone Museum is located on the plaza level of the Midtown Center at 675 West Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

Telephone Museum - Lincoln, NB

The Frank H. Woods Telephone Pioneer Museum was incorporated in 1994 and officially opened in October 1996. It was created through the hard work of many local Pioneer volunteers, a grant by the Independent Telephone Pioneers Association (ITPA) and funding and support from Aliant Communications.

Telephone Museum - Leslie, GA

The Georgia Rural Telephone Museum exhibits rarities from the entire span of US telephony history.

Telephone Museum - Seattle, WA

Welcome to the Official Website of the Museum of Communications, formerly known as the Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum. The museum is a Washington 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The museum reveals the history of the telephone and the equipment that makes it all work.

Telephone Museum - Roseville, CA

Come absorb a little bit of telephone history. The Roseville Telephone Museum, presented by SureWest, is among the most extensive collections of antique telephones and memorabilia in the nation. It's a fun family outing, a great school field trip or add it to your sight-seeing itinerary.

Telephone Museum - Gridley, IL

The Gridley Telephone Museum, in Gridley, IL, contains an amazing display of memorabilia that reflects the evolution of communication services in rural Illinois.

Telephone Museum - Albuquerque, NM

The Telephone Museum of New Mexico is located in downtown Albuquerque and is housed in a charming 1906 four-story building. It includes three floors of communication equipment featured in historical exhibits, photographs and literature from early times in the telephone industry in New Mexico--the first 100 years!

Telephone Museum - Marysville, WA

In 1996 Norwesco Club accomplished a goal of establishing a Telephone Museum in the Club's area. The Club had been storing museum articles for the past 10 years. Norwesco Board Members have long been requesting the use of a building from GTE Northwest to house a Museum. GTE offered the use of a closed Service Center for the Museum which is located next to the Marysville, Washington Central Office.

Telephone Museum - Abilene, KS

Abilene, KS 67410 - (785) 263-2681 or email mitmuseum@sbcglobal.net

 

Telephone Tribute - (online only)

This site, started in 1997 by David Massey, has no pop-up or pop-under advertisements, banner ads, or other intrusive/in-your-face advertising, The webmasters of this site personally pay for the server space so you can surf ad-free! David still operates his Bell System website called the "Bell System Memorial" which focuses on the corporate and technology history of AT&T, Bell Laboratories, Western Electric, and the so-called "Baby Bells".

Telephone Mueseum - Houston, TX

On May 13, 1966, the Telephone Museum was created in the basement of the old Telephone Building located at 3100 South Main Street in Houston.

Telephone Museum - Jennings, LA

Pioneers from throughout the state began updating and adding new, interactive exhibits to the Telephone Museum in Jennings. The museum, which features the history of the telephone from its invention in 1876 to modern day wireless technology, has attracted 38,000 visitors since its initial opening in September 1992.

Smithsonian Institution - Washington, DC

Welcome to the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex and research organization composed of 19 museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo.

Telephone Museum - Stockton, CA

John K. La Rue's Museum of Telephony, part of the American Museum of Telephony, is dedicated to preserving telephone history. The museum contains telephones and related items from the dawn of telephony (late 1800s) to the present day. One of the Museum's goals is to have working telephones from all eras. Many Mid-20th Century phones are already connected to the working Step Switch or XY Switch in the Museum's vintage Central Office. The Museum also includes a technical library which is full of telephone related books, catalogs, technical journals and practices.

Telephone Museum - Commack, NY

The museum traces the history of the telephone. From 1876 starting in Alexander Graham Bell's attic workshop to the modern phone that we all take for granted today.

Telecommunications History Group - online & CO & WA

THG is a non-profit organization funded by membership dues, research fees and grants. We maintain and operate one of the nation's largest privately held telecommunications archives, operate two museums and conduct educational programs on telephone history.

Telephone Museum - Jefferison, IA

The museum, one of the first in the nation dedicated to the preservation of telephone history, was started in 1957. Many of the items were collected by the Daubendiek family. Other items were donated by other parties interested in the preservation of the past of the telephone industry. The trophy fish and mammals were collected by C.H. Daubendiek and more recently by current general manager, Jim Daubendiek.

Telephone Museum - Rye, CO

Welcome to the Virtual Museum of Telecommunications, a collection of sites dedicated to the preservation of telecommunications history. Here you'll find many different exhibits, each in a virtual room and extensively cross-linked with areas both inside and outside the museum.

AT&T History - (online only)

The history of AT&T is in large measure the history of the telephone in the United States. AT&T's roots stretch back to 1875, with founder Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone. During the 19th century, AT&T became the parent company of the Bell System, the American telephone monopoly. The Bell System provided what was by all accounts the best telephone service in the world. The system broke up into eight companies in 1984 by agreement between AT&T and the U.S. Department of Justice. From 1984 until 1996 AT&T was an integrated telecommunications services and equipment company, succeeding in a newly competitive environment. Today, AT&T is a global networking leader, focused on delivering IP-based solutions to enterprise and government customers. Additionally, as AT&T pivots away from traditional consumer services, the company continues to offer consumers and small businesses a breakthrough alternative to traditional services. Voice over IP.

SmokeSignals to VoIP: A Communications Timeline

Communication is the ability and means of sharing information. Its history dates as far back as the earliest signs of life because as the early man exchanged signals and speech with his fellow man and other animals, he was actually communicating. However, communication has developed rapidly over the years as it grew from speech to symbols, with writing and telecommunication coming up in the recent past. Communication has affected people's lives in no little way as the needs of people are passed across. For instance, those that need the supply of goods and services communicate to get them; security is ensured as the police, fire department; people are entertained and updated with information through the radio, television and internet; government can meet the needs of the people; and very importantly, families and friends that live far apart can keep in touch with one another. Only the future can tell what higher levels of communication this Information Age will be launched into, but it all began long ago.