Chatham telephone operator circa 1910
originally published in an earlier edition of the Star-Tribune 

In August of 1895, it was big local news that long-distance telephone communication had successfully connected Lynchburg with other Virginia cities. This was still decades before many had telephones inside their homes, and the invention was still quite new and revolutionary. An article in the Salem Times-Register (Vol. 30, No. 10) aptly named, “Hello, Lynchburg!” tells the story. “A News reporter had the pleasure of chatting with the representatives of the Danville Register, the Danville Star, and the Roanoke Times, and the novelty of the thing was enjoyed considerably. When the reporter first got to the phone Danville and Roanoke tried to talk at the same time. Danville, however, finally conquered, and the listener at this end could distinguish the voice of the speaker as clearly as if he had been standing at his elbow.” A call between Lynchburg and Chatham cost thirty cents, an expensive sum at the time, but a rare opportunity in those days.

Telephone development within Pittsylvania County followed shortly thereafter. In April 1898, a stock company was organized at Chatham to erect and operate a telephone line to Spring Garden and other communities. Interest continued to grow. On February 10, 1903, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that several “enterprising citizens” were considering the installation of a local telephone exchange in Chatham. Just a few months earlier, J. W. Collie had reportedly secured approximately fifty subscribers for a proposed system. At the same time, the Southern Bell Telephone Company began constructing a line from Danville to South Boston through portions of Pittsylvania County. The route touched the post offices of Ringgold, Atlas, and Kentuck as reported on May 24, 1903. Chatham’s town council considered bids for a telephone franchise and ultimately chose Southern Bell to operate in town, and by June 1904 more than thirty telephones had already been installed. Soon enough, most breaking news articles were prefaced with “(By Southern Bell Telephone Long Distance Special Service.)”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on February 15, 1906 that “A new telephone company has been formed in Pittsylvania county, with J.G. Giles, a prominent farmer, as president. The line will run from Vance via Bachelor’s Hall to Danville.” Soon after, the paper reported on April 4, 1909 that the Rondo Telephone Company had developed approximately seventy-five miles of line and sixty telephones. “Nearly every section of the county can now be reached by telephone,” they said. Other companies soon followed. The Southern Mutual Telephone Company of Franklin, Bedford and Pittsylvania Counties operated under Dr. G.O. Giles of Penhook as president and Dr. S.A. Reynolds of Vashti as vice-president. On July 11, 1918, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the Bachelor’s Hall Telephone Company would “abandon its former policy” of charging a flat monthly rate of $1 “for unlimited conversations to Danville.” The Richmond Virginian advertised on February 20, 1919 that the Motley Telephone Company in Hurt was presided over by J.R. East and R.D. Adkins. The People’s Mutual Telephone Company was chartered at Gretna in 1920 under president O.L. Ramsey with plans to operate in western Pittsylvania and Franklin counties.

After a few years, emphasis shifted from establishing local lines to improving them to handle the large number of calls being made out of town. According to the Bedford Bulletin on August 14, 1930, the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company authorized construction of “920 cross arms and about 260 miles of copper wire on existing pole lines.” Many rural sections of Pittsylvania County nevertheless remained underserved throughout the 1930s and ‘40s. The Danville Commercial Appeal published an article on December 5, 1949 stating that the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company announced a $100,000 improvement project covering areas west of Chatham, including communities near Redeye and Swansonville, replacing about half of the defunct Tomahawk Telephone Company. “Calls may be made to Chatham without a toll charge… Rates for the service will be about $2 a month for a party line, with up to 10 phones…Since January 1946 rural areas in Virginia have gained 63,000 telephones…” Additional expansion projects followed in the 1950s, extending service into Dry Fork, White Oak Mountain, Spring Garden, Java, and Shockoe.