This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Acton’s Earliest Bell Telephone Began In 1884
Acton first learned of the telephone in 1884 when a small crank switchboard was installed at J. B. McGarvin’s drug store. By 1885 Dr. N. McGarvin led the line, with 110 subscribers listed in a decade old directory. The system grew, a larger switchboard came, and long distance linked Acton to Guelph and Toronto.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lloyd Denby
Acton
Mill Street
Edison
Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer
Gilliland
Blake
J. B. McGarvin
Mr. McGarvin
Bell Telephone Company
Montreal
Acton Banking Co
Corner Mill
Willow Streets
Free Press
H. P. Moore
McGarvin
J. E
N. McGarvin
J. E. McGarvin
Beardmore & Co
Beardmore
W. D
Brown
James
Campbell House
Grand Trunk Railway
Lowry
W. H
Moore & McGarvin
Moore
H. P
Toronto Lime Co
A. T. Brown
Consolidated Telephone Company
Caledon Telephone Company
Peel
Wellington
Dufferin
Simcoe
Caledon
Guelph
Rockwood
Orangeville
Erin
Trans - Canada Telephone System
Dominion
Canada
Acton Exchange
Toronto
Weston
Georgetown
Bell Canada