Even though Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876, the invention caught on slowly. Bollinger County provides an example of how the telephone came into general use over time, and how delivery of phone service changed into the mid-20th century.
Telephone service came to Lutesville from Jackson via Burfordville in early 1897, and Walter Burford’s store in Lutesville had the first phone. Almost immediately, a downside of telephone service became apparent. John Welker stole two horses from George Mathis and Thomas Knuckles in Bollinger County, and in the course of the search for him, the Bollinger County Sheriff and deputy went to Jackson. When they reached Burfordville on the way home, they phoned Lutesville inquiring about Welker. Welker was in Lutesville and somehow got the message and left town in a hurry. In that case, the phone message had tipped off the wrong person.
Soon the Valley Telephone Company organized in Bollinger County with major stockholders Dr. E. P. Biggs of Lutesville, J. A. Berry of Glen Allen, and S. J. McMinn of Marble Hill. The company began construction of lines and infrastructure to expand service. The Marble Hill Press noted on April 12, 1900, that the company installed new poles on Front Street that week. A party line stretched from Lutesville to Glen Allen, Grassy, and Buchanan, mainly supported by a stave factory at Buchanan and Krawlman. A second line went to Leopold, and later expanded to Laflin and Barks Chapel. Party lines were standard in that day. Multiple users could be “on the line” at once. This trait made for a delightful pasttime for the curious who could “listen in” and find out what their neighbors were up to. Uninterrupted conversations might require a lengthy wait until others were off the line. The party line option generally disappeared through the 1970s.
The Valley Telephone system used one wire to each phone with a ground return. Each phone was hand cranked and had a two cell battery. Batteries initially were wet cell, later replaced by dry cell when they became available.
People’s Telephone Company purchased Valley Telephone in 1909, and 70 phones operated in the county at that time. Phone service cost a base fee for within-system service, but calling outside the system required surcharges because of the use of other company’s lines. People’s installed a new switchboard in Lutesville, but at the same time the Advance Phone Company began operating in Bollinger County, extending from its home in Puxico. Their new switchboard was in the Bank of Marble Hill building.
Both companies operated in Bollinger County until 1915, when Advance Phone Company bought the local infrastructure of People’s. Advance Phone made improvements on lines to Glen Allen, Leopold, and Laflin and had extended lines to Bessville in 1913. An increase in June 1920 raised rates to $2.50 monthly for businesses, $1.50 for residential. These are equivalent to $39.40 and $23.66 in 2024 dollars.
The trend toward larger and more efficient phone systems continued when Scotia Phone Company purchased Advance Phone Company in June 1926. Five years later, Southeast Missouri Phone Company purchased the exchanges and connecting lines of Scotia Phone at Qulin, Puxico, Patton, Marquand, Marble Hill, Fisk, and Advance for $60,000. Prior to 1929, Southeast Missouri Phone Company was Cape Girardeau Phone Company.
Southeast Missouri Phone Company merged with Southwestern Bell in 1950. At the time Southeast Missouri had 46,000 subscribers in 52 communities. In the aftermath of World War II, the company had added 18,000 phones in five years and tripled monetary investment to $7,200,000.
