Name/Title
Wisconsin TelephoneScope and Content
Historical information on Wisconsin Telephone for 1976 Bicentennial Celebration in Waupun, WI.
*Facts are typed and was scanned with mistakes, if any, left uncorrected.
Wisconsin Telephone
J. W. Oliver knew enough about people and communications to grasp the value of a new gadget called the "telephone."
Oliver was editor of the old Waupun Leader in the late 1800's. As a newspaperman he was well aware of the impact of the printed word on a rapidly developing nation thirsting for information.
He was quick to recognize the significance of being able to transmit the spoken word over varying distances via the telephone. It suggested an immediacy that would surely be attractive to both businesses and private citizens.
Oliver became a prime mover in the development of the telephone in Waupun, introducing the first one to the community in 1880, just four years after its invention by Alexander Graham Bell.
During his tenure as editor of the Waupun Leader, Oliver often publicized the advantages of the telephone in his newspaper.
In February of 1879 Oliver published this item in the Waupun Leader: "The Berlin Journal rejoices over a small telephone exchange in that city. By a telephone exchange is meant a system of lines running from different parts of the city to a central office, where two lines can be switched together, putting two parties into communication."
"With a line of this kind in Waupun, ladies could order their groceries or call a physician, and businessmen could converse without leaving their offices. If any are interested, they can get full particulars at the Leader office."
In 1880 Oliver put his words into action, installing the first pair of telephones in Waupun, connecting his home with the newspaper office.
He marked the occasion with the following article in his paper: "An opportunity is now offered our people to investigate the working of this wonderful invention, the telephone, by calling at the Leader office. Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Berlin, as well as many other cities, are showing their appreciation of that means of communication by a liberal introduction of the telephone."
Oliver went around talking with business and community leaders stirring interest in the telephone. His efforts were rewarded in late 1880 when a main switching center was established. A small, crude switchboard was installed in a building at 11 N. Madison St.
The first exchange to furnish service in Waupun was born, and fittingly Oliver was its first manager.
Later the exchange was moved to 320 1/2 E. Main St., then to 122 S. Madison St. In April 1974, the business office was closed and customer records were moved to Beaver Dam, but a switching station remains at 221 Jefferson St.
Oliver managed the exchange until January 1883, when he sold the equipment and facilities to the Wisconsin Telephone Company, an organization which had been incorporated just six months earlier.
Shortly after the sale, this item appeared in the Leader:
"Mr. J. E. Keelyn of the Wisconsin Telephone Company was in the city Monday looking up the chances of putting in a first class exchange here, and the indications are that it will be done."
Six years later, in 1889, a second telephone exchange was formed by the Little Wolf River Telephone Company, but the firm abandoned its service after three years and sold its property to the Wisconsin Telephone Company.
Over the years, Wisconsin Telephone has expanded its facilities to meet the ever-increasing telephone needs of the community.
The number of telephones in the community increased steadily following World War II. In 1945 there were about 1,600 and that total jumped to 2,920 telephones 10 years later.
The number of telephones went to 4,283 in 1965 and today there are about 5,967 phones in Waupun, with customers making a total of about 20,909 calls a day, or an average of just under four calls per telephone. The plant and facilities in Waupun are worth $2,289,000.
One of the biggest days in the development of the telephone in Waupun occurred April 30, 1961, when the switch was made from manual to dial service.
Nearly two years of planning and more than $450,000 went into the conversion to dial telephone service. The modern dial equipment, taking only seconds to analyze, sort and route the dialed telephone number, replaced the operators' familiar "number please" greeting.
It was a far cry from Oliver's "tin can phone" of the 1880's, but only an indication of things to come in the future.
The roll call of managers whose names are part of the history of the telephone in Waupun, in addition to Oliver, includes: L. G. Barnes, Horace Kendall, Charles Cooper, Harry Hansen, Lee Dexter, J. Brown, Andrew Halkier, Harold B. Lewis, Charles N. Goulet, James H. Canham, Laurence W. Goetz, Theodore O. Olson, Lester E. Martin, LeRoy F. Fox, Claire M. Case, Raymond J. Gleason and the present manager, G. Richard Irving.Acquisition
Accession
2016.0075Source or Donor
Waupun Area Chamber of CommerceAcquisition Method
Donation
