Location: Walpole Public Library
“The First Telephones and Electric Lighting in Walpole Massachusetts”
A lecture by Betsey Dyer, Walpole Historical Society
2026 is the 150th anniversary of the invention of the telephone. And it is the 146th anniversary of the first telephones in Walpole, Massachusetts.,
Who in Walpole, a small town of 2500 people (in 1880) were first adopters of a new invention, the telephone, and why would they suddenly feel they needed one? Telephones are so ubiquitous and taken for granted now, that it is difficult for us to imagine being without them for any length of time. But what did the very early transition look like, when telephones were neither commonplace or essential?
Author Betsey Dyer
And who was the first in Walpole in the 1890s to set up an electric generator to power newly invented, long-lasting light bulbs? And then who wanted to have wires extended from that generator into their house to replace the reliable kerosene lamps that served well for generations.
This lecture is based on Betsey Dyer’s book.