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Island Telephone Company history
Island Telephone Company company history timeline
In 1929, The Telephone Company of Prince Edward Island was renamed ‘The Island Telephone Company’. In December of that same year, the business reached 4,072 phones in service.
1930 - New office completed in O'Leary to serve the area.
1931 - New facilities opened on the south corner of Queen and Fitzroy St in Charlottetown.
In 1932, there were 45 privately owned telephone companies in Prince Edward Island.
O.S.Van Olinda, History of Vashon Maury Islands, Vashon News 1935
1938 - New office and switchboard open in Kensington to serve the area.
In 1943 wind and snow blew down all poles from the KIRO towers uphill to Maury, thirty inches of snow was recored from the storm.
1945 W.F.Barnett Vashon Telephone Corp. buys phone system, W.F. Barnett president.
In the first snow in 1946 all lines but one were knocked out.
1948: An Island Telephone Company receipt in my possession shows a monthly charge of $1.50 for a rural residential line in the Hunter River exchange.
1949 The first lead covered cable was installed from the telephone office to Vashon.
1950 - February 9th - In Summerside, on February 9th, 1950, Wanda Lefurgey Wyatt wrote "The dial telephone system was formally opened for use this evening at 10 p.m." Reference: Pg.
1950 - August 28th - An offer was made to subscribers to sell 4½ % cumulative redeemable preference shares in the Island Telephone Co.
Barnett’s daughter Louise’s husband Don Gallagher began working for the company in the early 1950’s starting with climbing poles working as a lineman and ending up running nine telephone companies.
Another microwave link was installed in 1951 between Egmont Bay and Moncton [Lutz Mountain, N.B.] using a 42-C Lenkurt 450 megacycle12 channel system.
In 1951, The Telephone Bulletin, an industry journal, published an article entitled “Fishers Island: Pint-sized Telco,” that celebrated the uniqueness of the Fishers Island Telephone Co.
By 1951 Vashon Telephone’s 1,200 customers were using dial phones, and Barnett had doubled his customer base.
1953 - Dial telephone service instituted in Charlottetown with a new Northern Electric 5,100 line, 7,000 terminal automatic Strowger switching machine and a No.3 CL - 12 position toll switchboard.
1954 More lead cable installed from Vashon down Cove Road.
Don Gallagher, Vashon Beachcomber article, 1956; VMIHA, White Book
In May of 1957 Washington State had 60 independent telephone companies, as the president of the Washington Independent Telephone Association Floyd Barnett presented Washington State Governor a symbolic one millionth telephone representing the millionth telephone customer in the state.
Don Gallagher, Vashon Beachcomber, 1957
1957 1600 customers, first independent phone customers in Washington-Idaho to have Direct Distance Dialing, starting 5/25/1957.
In 1958, ten years after the Island's adoption of microwave, the Trans Canada Microwave System was completed and covered the 3900 miles from Halifax to Vancouver with over 139 repeater installations across the country.
In 1960 an expanded switch room was completed allowing 55% of the Vashon Telephone Company’s 1,679 customers to be switched from 10 party line to 5 party lines.
1963 - June 16 - The first Ericsson ARK523 Crossbar Switching Office in the Maritimes installed in Montague.
1966 - 3.3 acres of land purchased from Sunny Isle Farms on Belvedere Ave.
1968 - On Aug 18, 1968 a 120 channel Lenkurt 71F system extended the network from Egmont Bay via O'Leary.
1968 Vashon Telephone no longer independent becomes subsidiary of Telephone Utilities Inc.
1970 - A new 960 circuit system installed betwen Nutby Mountain, NS and the terminal building at Churchill, PEI. From there, the signal was re-transmitted to Charlottetown.
1973 - The Charlottetown portion of the Collins system above was replaced with a Lenkurt 878 960 channel microwave system.
The last independent telephone company merged with The Island Telephone Company Ltd on May 29, 1974, with the purchase of the South New Glasgow Rural Telephone Company.
1974 - Summerside to Egmont portion replaced by a 450 channel Lenkurt system.
In 1974, the last privately-owned phone company servicing rural P.E.I. was acquired by The Island Telephone Company.
1976 - The Island Telephone Company installed its 50,000th phone - in the residence of Mr. and Mrs.
1977 - With the whole of the Island on DDD, the changes were just beginning.
1979 - Two Lenkurt 878C3 systems were set up between Nutby Mountain, NS. to Tea Hill to carry television signals to Island Cablevision.
1983 - The Island Telephone Company installed its 75,000th phone - in the residence of Cecil Rose, North Lake.
17, Appendix "A", "A View From the Bridge", Finlay Martin, 1984., and a new agency office was opened in Summerside on the property of Charlotte Crabbe on Water St
1985, April 10 - The Island Telephone Company celebrates its 100th Anniversary.
Note: Much of the information for the above listing added with the help of an excellent book, "Voices of the Island", by Walter C. Auld, Nimbus Publishing, 1985.
1986 - A new digital route was built with 672 circuits from Charlottetown, to Seal River to Hardwood Hill, Nova Scotia, then to Fraser's Mountain, and then on to Halifax.
1998 Centurytel takes over Vashon telephone service
In 1998, the company was renamed Island Telecom Inc. to reflect the growing diversity of its business areas.
1999 - Island Tel merges with AtlanticCo following approval at a shareholder's meeting held May 19th.
In 1999 the shareholders of Island Telecom Inc voted to merge with the other Stentor Alliance companies in Atlantic Canada (NBTel, MT&T, and NewTel Communications) to form Aliant Telecom Inc. / Télécommunications Aliant Inc.
In 2006, Aliant merged with Bell Canada to form Bell Aliant.
Walter pased away May 20, 2008: AULD - Walter C. of Charlottetown and Stanhope on May 20th at age 90.
Battery Wooster, former site of two 8-inch disappearing guns, Fort Mansfield, Napatree Point, R.I. , circa 2011.
The Museum will open its doors with regular visiting hours beginning July 1, 2021.
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