First long-distance telephone line
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The world's first long-distance telephone line, established in 1877, connected French Corral with Bowman Lake (previously known as French Lake) at the headwaters of the
Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba River ...
. It was strung across trees and poles for a distance of in
Nevada County, California Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micropolitan ...
, passing through
Birchville Birchville is a suburb of Upper Hutt, New Zealand in the North Island. Its centre lies at the entrance to the Akatarawa Valley The Akatarawa Valley is a valley in the Tararua Range of New Zealand's North Island. It provides a link from the ...
, Sweetland, North San Juan,
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
, North Columbia, Lake City, North Bloomfield, Moores Flat, Graniteville, and
Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
. The line was operated by the Ridge Telephone Company for the service of Milton Mining and Water Company, as well as other water companies. The line was an improvement over the system used in nearby
Downieville, California Downieville is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Sierra County, California, United States. Downieville is on the North Fork of the Yuba River, at an elevation of . The 2020 United States census reported Downieville's population w ...
.


Historical landmark

The site is now a California Historical Landmark. The marker is inscribed:
WORLD'S FIRST LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE LINE

The first long-distance telephone in the world, built in 1877 by the Ridge Telephone Company, connected French Corral with French Lake, 58 miles away. It was operated by the Milton Mining Company from a building on this site that had been erected about 1853.


See also

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California Historical Landmarks in Nevada County List table of the properties and districts — listed on the California Historical Landmarks — within Nevada County, Northern California. :*Note: ''Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view a Google map of all properties and ...
*
History of the telephone This history of the telephone chronicles the development of the electrical telephone, and includes a brief overview of its predecessors. The first telephone patent was granted to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. Mechanical and acoustic dev ...
*
Timeline of the telephone This timeline of the telephone covers landline, radio, and cellular telephony technologies and provides many important dates in the history of the telephone. 1667 to 1875 * 1667: Robert Hooke creates an acoustic string telephone ...


References

1877 establishments in California History of Nevada County, California California Historical Landmarks California Gold Rush History of the telephone History of telecommunications in the United States {{California-stub