MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA HISTORY

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First Telephones in Wilton

By Curtis Frymoyer

Transcribed by Elizabeth Casillas, February 5, 2016

     The telephone was first shown to the public at the Centennial World’s Fair in Philadelphia in 1876. It attracted little attention and many Fair visitors considered it only a toy. The first telephone exchange in the country was installed in 1877 in Boston with only a few subscribers. Two years later the entire city of New York had only 252 names in the telephone directory. However, when the telephone was finally accepted by the public it spread rapidly over the country.

     In 1881, only five years after Bell’s invention was perfected, the telephone came to Wilton. The story is told by the following items from the Wilton Review – “June 9, 1881 – The Hawkeye Telephone Co. is now setting poles between this city and Muscatine. The office at this end of the line will be at the Star Drug Store. June 23, 1881 –Telephone—The line connecting this place with Muscatine was completed last Thursday about 10 o’clock and immediately orders were sent by our business men and congratulations were indulged in by citizens of both places. It is certainly a grand thing to talk to a man at a distance of fourteen miles as the line runs and hear his voice as distinctly as though in the same room. The Review orchestra entertained a number of Muscatine homes Saturday with their music.”

     July 14, 1881 – “Mr. J.G. Sharp has connected the mill with his office a block away. You can hear the worst kind of helloing at both ends of that piece of wire now.”

     July 28 1881 – “Mr. W.H. Johnson has connected his residence and store by telephone, a complex outfit of the Bell Telephone being used. Mr. J. finds it a great convenience.”

     Aug. 4, 1881 – “At last a telephone exchange in this place is made a certainty and we are soon to realize the comforts and conveniences of our larger neighbors. Mr. Eagle of the Hawkeye Telephone Co. made us a proposition which was very reasonable in which the subscribers to our exchange buy the outfit for a central office, put up their own wires and bear the expenses incident. By doing this they get the rental very reasonable. We are glad to notice that 13 stations have already been taken and prospects are that twenty will come in, while it was only expected to have a system of 10 at the start. You can put it down. . .

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Picture – Looking east on Fourth Street before cars – Courtesy of Charles Norton

. . . that Wilton is up with the times and that we get the telephone is another evidence of enterprise and prosperity.”

     Aug. 24, 1882 – “The latest project is a line from here to West Liberty.” “The line between this place and Durant will be put up at once.”

     At this time Wilton had direct telephone connections with Muscatine and through that city with Davenport, Rock Island, Moline and Geneseo.

     In 1884 a line was built from Wilton to Lime City. The manager of the Sugar Creek Lime Co. lived in Wilton and he wanted a direct connection with the kilns. There were then 19 subscribers to the Wilton exchange.

     Business men were beginning to depend on the telephone as is shown by this ad for Strong’s grocery store in the Nov. 6, 1884 Review – “Don’t be backward in telephoning Strong for groceries; his number is 104.”

     Although we had a telephone exchange in Wilton in the 1880’s, the telephone in private homes was an exception rather than the rule. In the mid nineties the telephone exchange was in Agnew’s Drug Store. There was a glass-sided booth in the store for making long distance calls. Early switchboard operators were Elthea Marshall and Kate Creitz. The switchboard was moved to Mrs. Dodges’s residence on Cedar Street across the alley from the present telephone office.

     Very few farmers had telephones in those early days. It was only after the Bell patents ran out in the mid 90’s that the telephone came to the rural areas. Neighbors organized their own companies, built lines to the nearest exchange and bargained for service. Rural lines came to Wilton in 1902 with the Sugar Creek Telephone Co. as an early one. This line had 25 members and in a few years was divided into two parts. One of the latest to be built was the North Star Co. line of the 1909. Most of the rural lines were sold to the Wilton Telephone Co. in the mid 50’s.

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     Remember when your father paid his grocery bill at Lamp’s Store and was given a big striped sack off candy for the children?

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Picture – After the Fire of 1892 – Courtesy of Janet Carstens

    The fire started in Wallace Bros. blacksmith shop which was located west of Hucke’s livery stable on the south side of the 200 block West Fourth Street. It took the entire north half of the block, with the exception of the brick building on the corner. Firemen thought they had saved the house on the west side of the blacksmith shop and so concentrated their efforts on saving the buildings on the east side. While they were working there the house caught fire and was totally destroyed as can be seen by the cellar hole in the foreground of this picture.

History of Telephones in Wilton 1897-1976

By Herschel Flater

    When telephones became available to the public several people built lines with neighbors to communicate by wire. It was desirable to be able to talk to people on other lines so the lines were run to a common place so cross connections might be made. The M.B. Nelson Clothing Store was such a location and connections between lines were made there.

     In 1901 several citizens realized the need for a switchboard and an organization to furnish telephone service was formed. M.B. Nelson, J.M. Rider, Fred Maurer, W.D. Harris, C.W. Norton, A.R. Leith, A.C. Shiflet, H.E. Nicolaus and J.H. Wacker organized and incorporated the Wilton Telephone Company with capitalization of $3,000.00. A survey was taken that revealed that at least 40 people desired service. The company purchased a Swedish-American switchboard in 1902. The demand for service was greater than anticipated as farmers organized lines of their own and asked for switching service. M.B. Rider was the first president and manager of the exchange, Margaret McSwiggin was hired as switchboard operator and Walter Curtis was hired as installer repairman.

     During the years from 1904-1920 arrangements were made for. . .

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     This page sponsored by the Wilton Telephone Company.

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Picture – Interior of Telephone Office – Courtesy of Hulda Schroeer
Operators Hulda Schroeer (on the left) and Anna Hall in Wilton Telephone office.

. . . connection with the switchboards at Sunbury, Durant, Rochester, Tipton, Moscow, Atalissa, Summit and Muscatine. The switchboard was enlarged to accommodate the toll lines and the increase in subscribers. The telephone office was moved to the second floor of the Bacon building to have more space for the board and equipment.

     Messrs. W.L. Agee and B.A. Agee purchased the stock of the corporation and managed the company from January 4, 1921 until 1924. Mr. Armstrong improved the company by burying cable in the town and removing the poles with open wire. Cable was laid in town starting in 1937. In September of 1942 the property where the office is now located was purchased and the switchboard moved in November 1942. The first PBX board was installed for the Eastern Iowa Light & Power Coop in 1949.

     The telephone company was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Herschel Flater in August 1952. The increased use of the telephone made it necessary to think about dial service. The company purchased all of the switcher lines owned by the farmers and rebuilt them from 1955 through 1957. The number of subscribers on a line was cut to a maximum of 8 from as many as 18. Cutover to dial service was made January 9, 1958.

     Direct distance dialing with operator identification was made available in 1963. Cable was laid in rural areas in 1967 and private line service was given to all subscribers in 1968. Direct distance dialing with automatic number identification was begun in 1965. A new business office was built in 1963. At this time the equipment room was enlarged.

     The telephone company now offers the latest in service, including WATS, telemetering of gas service, teletype, foreign exchange, and direct distance dialing to all of the U.S. except Alaska and Hawaii and . . .

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     This page sponsored by the Paul Maurer family.

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To ll of Canada. The telephone company serves 324 rural subscribers and 1723 telephones in Wilton.

     Following is a list of the Switcher (Farmer) Lines with their switchboard numbers and the number of members:

     Sweetland Annes – Drop no. 04, 8 subscribers; Sugar Creek – Drop no. 16, 16 subscribers; Hickory Grove – Drop no. 21, 18 subscribers; 22 Line – Drop no. 22, 9 subscribers; North Star – Drop no. 23, 11 subscribers; Rural Independent Co-op Tele. Co. – Drop no. 24, 14 subscribers; River Bottom – Drop no. 25, 7 subscribers; 51 Line – Drop no. 51, 5 subscribers; Evergreen Telephone Line – Drop no. 61, 11 subscribers; Prairie Bell – Drop no. 62, 9 subscribers.

     Yankee Hollow – Drop no. 63, 16 subscribers; White Pigeon – Drop no. 65, 9 subscribers; Sand Hill – Drop no. 66, 6 subscribers; Otter Creek – Drop no. 68, 12 subscribers; Cedar River – Drop no. 69, 7 subscribers; Wilton Ayresville – Drop no. 70, 8 subscribers; 75 Line – Drop no. 75, 11 subscribers; Co-operative Telephone Line – Drop no. 82, 7 subscribers; 92 Line (Sharon) – Drop no. 92, 13 subscribers; Herford Drop no. 93, 7 subscribers; 94 Line – Drop no. 94, 16 subscribers; Pleasant Hill – Drop no. 95, 13 subscribers; 96 Line – Drop no. 96, 11 subscribers; 99 Line – Drop no. 99, 6 subscribers; Cottonwood Glen – Drop no. 100, 15 subscribers.