Telephones

The first phone in a community was often found in the general store. By the early 1900s, some shops and homes had phones. The switchboard was needed to connect calls. People were not able to pick up the phone and dial the number directly on the phone and they needed the operator and the switchboard to connect the calls.

A woman is sitting on a stool with a telephone held up to her ear.

The first telephone in a town was often inside of the general store.

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Telephone operators were required until the 1960s to complete telephone calls in Saskatchewan.

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The switchboard was set up in a private home. A switchboard was run by a person, who was the operator of the switchboard.

Telephone service arrived in Regina in 1887. The telephone switchboard was set up in a bookstore. By 1905, there were about 2,000 phones in larger towns.

A group of men are working together to build a wooden grain elevator with piles of lumber nearby and a train in the background.

Photo Credit: SASKATCHEWAN HISTORY ALBum

This woman talks on the telephone at the telephone office in Girvin, SK in 1913.

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