In A Newport Minute | 1876-1885

This video is the 11th in our series, In A Newport Minute, created by the Newport Historical Society as part of Newport’s contribution to America Turns 250. Each installment highlights a moment in American history within a ten‑year span, beginning in 1776 and continuing to the present day.

Across these 25 short videos, we’ll explore how Newport grew, adapted, and evolved alongside the nation—sometimes in step with national events, sometimes in its own unique way. Our goal is to bring local history to life and show how our community’s story fits into the larger American narrative.

We invite you to follow along every two weeks as we share new chapters in Newport’s past.

Overview

This video traces the introduction and local adoption of telephone technology in Newport from informal experiments in the late 1870s through establishment of a formal exchange by the 1880s. It highlights early inventors and vendors, the role of newspapers in disseminating telephone developments, and evolving regulatory permission for poles and wires.

The narrative follows the Newport Telephone Exchange’s physical and organizational changes—switchboard installation, operator roles led by “electric belles,” relocations of the exchange, and eventual technological shifts that rendered operators obsolete by the mid-20th century. It concludes with the demolition of the telephone office and a surviving equipment building.

All of the videos in the series can be viewed using the link below:

Sources:

• Richards Free Library Digital Archives – NH Argus & Spectator and Republican Champion
• Mill Town Messenger (January 2016) – Pharmacies in Newport
• 1961 Newport, NH Bicentennial Book – The Telephone Story
• The New Hampshire Telephone Museum Dials In to the Past – NHPR Arts & Culture
• When Telephones First Became Popular – History Addicts (Facebook Historical Archive)

Key Words:

James Pierce, Henry G. Carleton, Matthew Harvey, Mrs. Pierce, Alexander Graham Bell, Newport, River Street, Maple Street, E. E. Stearns, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Concord, Fred Currier, Main Street, Newport Police Department, Carleton Hurd, Boston and Northern Telephone, New England Telephone and Telegraph, Matson Block, Edes Block, Richards Block, Main and Maple Street

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