In August 1904, residents of Buchanan, North Dakota, and the surrounding area were given the opportunity to connect with the rest of the world. That was when the Buchanan Brothers, large local farmers, installed a private telephone line from their farm to the town of Buchanan and then on to Jamestown, where it was connected to Northwestern’s telephone exchange.

The line was considered the first rural telephone line in the district.

Although it was a private company, the owners allowed subscribers along the line to use the service.

With a connection to the Northwestern telephone exchange in Jamestown, a subscriber in Buchanan could make local calls and even long distance calls to areas as far away as Minnesota.

Newspaper articles of the time viewed the first rural telephone line as a sign of future developments and increasing connectivity in Stutsman County.

“The towns of Pingree and Edmunds, and the farmers along the border between those towns, will now realize the importance of getting telephone service as soon as possible,” wrote The Jamestown Alert.

There is no record of what was discussed during the first telephone call on the route from Buchanan to Jamestown.

Perhaps the Buchanan Brothers called Jamestown to find out the current price of wheat.

Or maybe someone called to ask a girl out on a date.

Whatever the case, it was the beginning of a communication that was faster than a horse could run or a train could chug along the tracks.

The year 1904 seems to mark an expansion of electrical communications in Stutsman County.

The same issue of the Jamestown Alert that reported on the new telephone line from Buchanan to Jamestown also reported on the installation of electric fire alarms at the North Dakota State Hospital.

These were not smoke or fire detectors, but simply switches that a patient or staff member could press to set off an alarm in the State Hospital’s engine room, where the equipment and fire personnel were stationed.

We have made great strides in communications and cellular signals now reach most areas of Stutsman County.

We probably still use telephones for the same reason we did 120 years ago when this service was first introduced.

You can contact the author Kieth Norman at www.KeithNormanBooks.com