History at Your Fingertips and the End of a Receiver

Local Telephone Museum holds the invaluable history and collections born from decades of telecommunication developments and is situated right in Hinesville, GA.

On February 9th at 12 p.m the local ITPA National Office and Telephone Museum held an event of free admissions and active tours to share with the local community the history of telecommunications and the development of the phone as we know it. Located in Bryant Commons of Hinesville, the ITPA National Office and Museum held a unique chance to be engaged and active with the city board and the Bryant family who donated the lands and home for the growth of the local community involvements. With the old home donated, the beautiful museum was moved from its original location in Washington D.C and became a part of Hinesville’s local community in 2001.

Executive Director, Alissa Moss, provided tours and a wide variety of in-depth knowledge on the history not only of telecommunications and its developments but even the unique items on display within the museum. Moss explained some of the unique and treasured items the museum holds that is unseen anywhere else. "We are one of the only museums to have both the Telephone Engineer and Management set as well as Telephony set," said Moss. The Telephony set, dated as far back as the 1950s, is nearly complete as they carefully move their investments to gather more of the forgotten and worn books. The Telephone Engineer and Management books are in part thanks to a board member of ITPA who had personal involvement in their development and donated their collection to the museum.

There are over one-hundred items on display within the museum gathered over time and is one of the largest collections in the U.S with such a rich history. One of their most treasured items, and most valued, is the Transceiver (earpiece) that was used by Alexander Graham Bell himself. Alexander Graham Bell was known as the father of the development in telephone communications, and this receiver was a result of Bell visiting a hotel that had no telephone communications. And so, he requested to have circuits installed, provided the instruments, and soon had the hotel wired in. The earpiece, later donated, was a result of this development.

Other things on display include a large variety of phones ordered in the era of development and growth. Including detailed looks at the relay and answering systems for operators and a look at what goes on in the machines when a visitor dials a number. Multiple displays are interactable to explain and show young and old alike how these old treasures worked and brought us to the era we are in today, including old telephone booths that were a valuable part of Hinesville's history and are still their original wood exteriors.

The event hosted encouraged others to come and discover more of the intimate history in Hinesville, the efforts of the Bryant family, and encourage everyone to remember the birthplace of inventions and creativity.

More on ITPA: https://www.facebook.com/ITPANATIONAL/

ITPA Hinesville Museum Number: (912) 408-4872

(All Photography by Jessica Barnett) For more photography on this location, click here.