Alexander Graham Bell established a summer home near Baddeck in Nova Scotia called Beinn Bhreagh (seen in the distance in the picture – View large image.) While Beinn Bhreagh is still a private residence, there is a Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada in Baddeck that documents his experiments once he was wealthy. (I took the picture from the museum grounds.) They have an enourmous hydrofoil experiment that looks like a plane.
For a history of the telephone in Canada see BCE :: History of Innovation or an interactive Flash timeline. Hamilton, by the way, was where the first public telephone was installed and the first “long distance” line was from Hamilton to Toronto.
Two quotes from the interactive timeline,
February 1, 1881
The Company installs its first public telephone in Lancefield’s Stationery Store, Hamilton, Ontario. The telephone is not equipped with a coin collector and customers pay the storekeeper.
May 15, 1881
The Company constructs its first “long distance” line between Hamilton and Toronto. Vice-President and Managing Director Charles Fleetford Sise advances the capital from his own personal fortune to ensure the completion of the project.
One thing I didn’t realize was that the initial phones were sold as merchandise, not a service. You bought the phone and strung the wires yourself.
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