MONROE COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR
In conjunction with the
150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Monroe County
Historical Association presents an exhibit of local
artifacts of that era and items in connection to the War
Between the States. The Civil War exhibit will run through
will run through
October 28, 2011.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, MONROE COUNTY:
A History of Telephone Service in Monroe County, Pa.
This exhibit features telephones and accessories from the late 1800s to present day. Stop in the Mansion and see the “Elliot” telephone, the first telephone used in Stroudsburg, as well as some cell phones from the late 1990s.
In 1892, a man named Edwin Peters, owner of the Peters House in Bushkill, drove by horse and buggy to New York City to purchase materials for a telephone line. He planned to connect his hotel with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to better service guests once they arrived at the station. Just one year later home telephone service was introduced in Monroe County with the granting of a charter to the Stroudsburg and Bushkill Telephone Company on November 2, 1893.
The Stroudsburg and Bushkill Telephone Company first shared an office with the Times Democrat newspaper at 504 Main Street, Stroudsburg. Once business increased, the company relocated to North Sixth Street. In 1926, the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania purchased the Stroudsburg and Bushkill Telephone Company, and in 1930 the Bell Telephone Company opened a central office building at the corner of Seventh and Ann Streets, which still stands today.
The phone exhibit will run through October 28, 2011. Don’t miss it!