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HISTORY OF LOCALTELEPHONE SERVICE1ii(Continued from page one)Islt;Ptlypliwtfctob£hlt;lbvlthinofwJLcbemwldepe11Mi6:;sptrjthnrm:wi2;;ly after that, the organization was ] ( incorporated in Des Moines.In 1900 Mr. Cocker ill, associated with C. H. Smith of Odebolt, organized the New State Telephone and Telegraph company, selling all of the Jefferson Telephone property west from Lake City. Mr. Cock-erill became president and retained the ownership of all Jefferson Telephone company lines and the exchange in Greene county. The Odebolt exchange and toil lines south to Denison and surrounding territory were purchased. The lines were extended to cover most of northwest Iowa around Sioux City and west to Hartlngton and Norfolk, Neb., to Sioux Palls, S. D., j where they purchased the Sioux Palls exchange.When the New State T. T. built to MovMe, they connected with the Home Telephone company of which T. H. Johnson was manager The Home Telephone company later sold out to the Bell Telephone company and left the New State T. T. without a Sioux City connection. At that time a company was organized In Sioux City and the Automatic Telephone company was built. The local concern made a contract with that company for a 99 year toll connection. In 1904 the New State T. T bought out the Harter Brothers, who were owners of the Sioux Valley company, extending from Correctionville and Kingsley to Cherokee, where an office building and new exchange was built.When the exchange to Grand Junction was built in 1901 for some 75 subscribers, the company asked for franchise, which was de-.tgated by the vote of the people. Upon the completion of the exchange located In the upstairs in the building owned by Henry Ket-tell, the company moved in. The night the exchange was completed, a fire burned the buQding to the ground and the project was a total loss.The Carroll County Telephone company was established in 1902, and the Carroll exchange built. This exchange later was sold to people from GrinnelL The same year Charles Cockerill sold his Interest in the Jefferson Telephone company which he had retained in Greene county, to a new organization called the Greene County Telephone company. This included the exchange in Jefferson and the lines to Grand Junction, Dana, Pato, Beaver, Scranton, Churdan, Farlin and Cooper. Mahlon Head was the new president; J. M. Forbes, vice president; G. S. Terrill, secretary; M. M. Head, treasurer, and E, B. Wilson, counsel.Meantime the New State Telephone and Telegraph company purchased the Onawa Telephone company and enlarged the exchange and extended the toll lines south to Little Sioux and Council : Bluffs. In 1905 the name was changed from the New State Tele-. phone and Telegraph company to ! the New State Telephone Company I of Sioux City. The Maple Valley Telephone and Telegraph company of Mapletown was associated with the company, and included the exchange and toll lines west to Onawa.In 1906 the New State Telephone Company of Sioux City organized the Long Distance Telephone Company of Omaha, with C. G. Cockerill president. Charles C. Deering, then manager of the Boone County Telephone company, took full charge. The companymade a 99 year exclusive toil line contract with the new Independent Telephone company, then building an automatic exchange in Omaha and South Omaha. The toll lines were sold to the New State Telephone Company of Sioux City in 1909 Mr Deering served with the New State Telephone Company of Sioux City until he became manager of the Independent Telephone company at Des Moines. About the year 1906 the Independent companies got together and formed the Independent Clearing House, and established an office in Des Moines, with George T Hughes as the first manager. At the time of the death of Mr. Hughes Mr. * Deering took that Job.The first 20 years’ story of the telephone in Jefferson is one of trial and experiment. It is the story not only of Jefferson, of Greene county, but of this section of the state. We were among the very first communities tp receive this service, and particularly one of the first of the communities of this size. It has been the story of a service which has grown as time went on, until now Jefferson and Greene county are well supplied with telephones.
Newspaper Details
Jefferson Bee
Jefferson, Iowa, US
Tue, Jan 27, 1942
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Hodge E.
TX, USA 17 Dec 2019
Other Publications Near Jefferson, Iowa
Jefferson Era
Jefferson Bee
Jefferson Herald
Standard Atlas of Greene County Iowa
Atlas of Greene County Iowa
