Pioneer Texas Telephones

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now settle in, because this is a story about a wire, a voice, and a woman everybody in town depended on; and how Texas went from barbed wire fences to nearly four and a half million telephones. It starts in 1878.

The very first telephones in Texas stretched between two points in Galveston: the offices of the Galveston News and the home of its publisher, Colonel A. H. Belo.

That's it. That's the whole network. Two points, one wire, one conversation.

But Galveston wasn't done. By 1879, it had the first telephone exchange in Texas. And by 1883, it had the first long-distance line in the state, running all the way to Houston.

Meanwhile, up in Johnson County, Cleburne was finding its own voice. Phone service came to town in 1882 when the Automatic Telephone Company opened up. Then in 1897, Southwestern Telegraph and Telephone Company (the outfit that would eventually join the Bell System) started another firm and built the city's first long-distance line.

Twelve miles, all the way to the Alvarado junction. You could reach out across those twelve miles for somewhere between two and three dollars a month. Now, here's where Cleburne gets genuinely interesting.

Around 1904, the Automatic Telephone Company installed some of the first dial phones in the entire United States. The entire country. They were fifteen years ahead of everyone else.

Fifteen years before dial phones were used successfully anywhere else. Think about that for a moment on this road. But progress, as it has a habit of doing, came with a twist.

In 1912, problems forced the Automatic Telephone Company to close. Just like that. Out in the countryside, though, folks were doing things their own way.

Near the turn of the century, rural areas often ran their phone lines along barbed wire fences. The same wire keeping cattle in was carrying voices across the pasture. And even in town, neighbors shared party lines; each household with its own special ring, so you'd know when to pick up and, well, when to listen anyway.

All those lines, rural and urban alike, fed into a main switchboard. And sitting at that switchboard was a person everybody simply called Central. She was one operator, and she was the hub of everything.

She always knew where to find the town doctor. She served as a clearing house for funeral plans. If you were out of work, you could ask her who needed workers.

When there was a public announcement, she'd ring every phone on the circuit and read it aloud herself. Central knew this town the way only someone who never stops listening can know a place. And when the dial phones finally came, when they didn't need her anymore, many small towns genuinely regretted losing her.

By 1966, Texas had four million, four hundred seventy-four thousand, seven hundred and twenty-two telephones, served by a hundred and thirty-four companies. From Colonel Belo's parlor in Galveston to nearly every corner of the state. From a single wire to a web that covered everything.

All of it started with a line between two buildings, and somewhere in the middle, there was a woman at a switchboard who knew where everybody was. That's a pretty good run for a piece of wire.

What the marker says

The first telephones in Texas, in 1878, connected the "Galveston News" with the home of its publisher, Col. A. H. Belo. Galveston also had the first exchange, 1879, and first long-distance line, which ran to Houston, in 1883. Cleburne phone service began 1882 when Automatic Telephone Company opened. In 1897 Southwestern Telegraph and Telephone Company (which later joined Bell System) started another firm. It built city's first long distance line, 12 miles to Alvarado junction. Monthly rates were $2 to $3. About 1904, the Automatic Telephone Company installed some of first dial phones in U.S.- fifteen years before they were used successfully elsewhere. But in 1912, problems forced the Automatic Telephone Company to close. Near turn of century, rural areas often used barbed wire fences for phone lines. Even urban homes shared party lines, each one having its special "ring". Circuits joined a main switchboard manned by one operator "central"--- the hub of local news. "Central" always knew where to find town doctor and was a clearing house for funeral plans. The unemployed could ask her who needed workers; she advertised by ringing all phones to read announcements. Many small towns regretted losing her services when dial phones came into use. By 1966, Texas had 4,474,722 telephones, 134 companies. Incise in base: Early travel, transportation and communication series erected by the Moody Foundation.