Today in Wheeling History: May 15--West Virginia's first telephone exchange started in Wheeling with around 25 subscribers (1880). The Central District and Printing Telegraph Company installed a telephone switchboard in the basement of the Peoples Bank of Wheeling Building located at 12th and Main streets. Harry Drummond and Mattie Miner were among the initial telephone operators.
The state's primary phone line had been established a year earlier between two Behrens brothers' grocery stores in the city, allowing only local calls initially. In 1883, long-distance service started between Wheeling and Pittsburgh, and other cities such as Parkersburg, Charleston, and Huntington followed suit with telephone exchanges in the subsequent years. By 1889, toll lines linked all the exchanges in northern West Virginia. In 1897, AT&T bridged the state's north and south through long-distance calls, and the entire state became interconnected by the early 1900s. Key developments included dial service in Huntington in 1925 and direct-distance dialing in Wheeling and Moundsville in 1956. Charleston was the first city in the country to have long-distance carrier options beyond AT&T in 1984. (https://rb.gy/8vt2a) (https://rb.gy/w6pwh)
The state's primary phone line had been established a year earlier between two Behrens brothers' grocery stores in the city, allowing only local calls initially. In 1883, long-distance service started between Wheeling and Pittsburgh, and other cities such as Parkersburg, Charleston, and Huntington followed suit with telephone exchanges in the subsequent years. By 1889, toll lines linked all the exchanges in northern West Virginia. In 1897, AT&T bridged the state's north and south through long-distance calls, and the entire state became interconnected by the early 1900s. Key developments included dial service in Huntington in 1925 and direct-distance dialing in Wheeling and Moundsville in 1956. Charleston was the first city in the country to have long-distance carrier options beyond AT&T in 1984. (https://rb.gy/8vt2a) (https://rb.gy/w6pwh)
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