Frank H. Woods museum documents phone history in Lincoln, Nebraska

Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone in January 1875. A few years later, the first telephone made its appearance in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The first phone in Lincoln was considered a “coffin” phone. It had a slide manual switch and either a single or double receiver. It’s considered the original telephone. In 1879, the editor of the local newspaper had a phone set up between his office and house. In 1880, The American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) opened its first exchange in Lincoln with 50 lines.

The Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum covers the history of the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company. Woods founded the Lincoln phone company in 1903.

The museum allows visitors an opportunity to view telephone history from its invention to the cell phone.

The front room contains a timeline of the battle over control of the telephone business in Lincoln. In 1907, four years after the Lincoln phone utility opened, the Bell systems attempted to take over competition by underselling services. That meant local companies eventually couldn’t compete and could be absorbed.

Lincoln managed to hold off from being taken over. The Lincoln Telephone company grew in the area. It changed its name to Lincoln Telecom in the 1980s. In the mid-90s, it was bought by Aliant Communications. Alltel eventually took over Aliant. Windstream now owns the former Lincoln T&T.

Visitors can look at early telephones, from the candlestick style. They used for several years.

Another room shows early switchboards. The switchboards were staffed by operators. As the telecommunication advanced, operators could use shoulder-harnessed phones.

One of the first-ever at-home work positions, women could make extra money as operators, while also caring for the family.

If you’ve seen the movie “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel, you may recall the scene where the duo fly to Lincoln on a whim and visit the phone museum. The exterior show was from Lincoln, but the actual scene was filmed in Hollywood. The museum agreed to send out some pieces for the scene. Switchboards were included.

The museum has so many antique telephones. It’s amazing that so many styles were created in the early days.

Pay phones came in a variety of styles in the early days, as well.

As telephones advanced, the residential telephone took on a new identity. The wall-mounted phone started as a rotary. The styles varied. Then, came the push button models. Furthermore, phones could be placed on table tops, desks, etc. The cords were long enough that you could move about the room or even the house/apartment.

Homes didn’t even have to have one phone. Think about it…instead of your teenager hogging the phone (not saying I was one of those kids), you could have a second line – a Teen Line. Phone companies made it sound exotic, but a teen line was nothing more than a second line. But, the phone companies pushed it.

Want to know who’s calling you? Want to have two callers on the line at the same time? You could do that.

There’s no way that Alexander Graham Bell could have had the foresight to see how the telecommunication business would grow – from his contraption in Boston to today’s wireless devices.

The telephone museum has a lot to offer visitors. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. It’s a great place to spend 1-2 hours on a Sunday afternoon. The museum is open Sundays 1-4 p.m. For group tours or for additional information, please call 402-436-4640.