The First Telephone Exchange was a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

located in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, notable for being the site of the world's first commercial

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

. The exchange was established by George W. Coy, proprietor of the District Telephone Company of New Haven, in 1878. Coy had built the world's first commercial telephone switchboard, and with investors Herrick P. Frost and Walter Lewis, had established the District Telephone Company of New Haven in January 1878. The company soon grew quickly, servicing much of southern

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. In 1882, the company renamed to Southern New England Telephone (SNET). The company remained independent until it was acquired by SBC Communications in 1998. The site of the First Telephone Exchange, which was located in New Haven's Boardman Building, was listed as a National Historic Site on January 29, 1964. In 1968, the New Haven Redevelopment Commission acquired the building with the intentions of tearing it down and building a parking garage in its place. The building was demolished in 1973 and the site was stripped of its NRHP designation that same year.

History

Mechanic and inventor

George Willard Coy George Willard Coy (November 13, 1836 – January 15 or 23, 1915) was an American mechanic, inventor and entrepreneur. He ran the first commercial telephone exchange in 1878 and was involved in the production of the first telephone directory. Ea ...

attended a lecture by

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

at New Haven's Skiff Opera House on April 27, 1877. Coy, who had developed the world's first commercial

telephone switchboard A telephone switchboard is a device used to connect circuits of telephones to establish telephone calls between users or other switchboards. The switchboard is an essential component of a manual telephone exchange, and is operated by switchboard ...

, was inspired by Bell's discussion of a

for business and trade. On November 3, 1877, Coy applied for (and received) a franchise from the

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company was the initial corporate entity from which the Bell System originated to build a continental conglomerate and monopoly in telecommunication services in the United States and Canada. The company was organized in Bost ...

for

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

and Middlesex Counties, Connecticut on the agreement that Bell would own 35% of the company. Coy partnered with investors Walter Lewis, who was the superintendent of the New Haven Clock Company, and businessman Herrick Frost to establish the District Telephone Company of New Haven on January 15, 1878. On January 28, operating from the Boardman Building in New Haven, the company established the world's first telephone exchange. The company entered operation with just 21 customers, but by February 21, the number of subscribers had reached 50. On February 21, the company made history by printing what is now known as the first ever

telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...

. The company soon grew quickly; by 1880 it had obtained the rights to serve all of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The company was renamed to Connecticut Telephone, which was changed to Southern New England Telephone (SNET) in 1882. SNET continued to operate in Southern New England for over 100 years before being acquired by SBC Communications in 1986. SBC would later acquire

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

in 2005. The Boardman Building was designated a National Historical Landmark on January 29, 1964. By 1968, the Boardman Building (which by this point was known as the Metropolitan Building) was acquired by the New Haven Redevelopment Agency with the intention of demolishing it and building a parking garage in its place. The Metropolitan Building was ultimately demolished in 1973, and its NRHP listing was removed that same year.

History

References

See also