The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, usually known as C&P Telephone, is a former

d/b/a A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

name for four

Bell Operating Companies The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundr ...

providing service to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Today, three of the companies are owned by

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

: The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (DC), The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland, and The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia. The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia is owned by

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

History

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (DC)

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company was founded in June 1883. C&P Telephone Co. provided telephone service to Washington, D.C. In July 1969, President Richard Nixon's telephone call to

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

astronauts originated from C&P Telephone Co. equipment.

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland

The C&P Telephone Company of Maryland was founded in 1884 as The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Baltimore City. It changed its name to The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland on January 3, 1956, and the corporate name at this point changed to C&P Telephone of Maryland. C&P relaxed its rule against the hiring of African-Americans for white collar jobs in January 1943 due to labor shortages during World War II, but telephone operator positions remained

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

until the hiring of Hermie Graham for a position at a C&P office in Govans in 1974.

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia was founded in 1903. In 2010, operations in Alleghany County that served customers in

Crows The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. ...

and Hematite were split from Verizon Virginia and transferred to

Frontier Communications of Virginia Frontier Communications of Virginia, Inc. is an operating company created in 2009 to take over operations in Crows, Virginia and Hematite, Virginia (located in Alleghany County, Virginia, Alleghany County that had been served by C&P Telephone, Veri ...

, a subsidiary of

Changes

After AT&T's 1969

corporate identity A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...

overhaul, which included the famous

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

Bell logo, all four companies' names were shortened to C&P Telephone on marketing materials, bills, vehicles, etc. In 1984, when the Bell System was divided into the

Regional Bell Operating Companies The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) are the result of '' United States v. AT&T'', the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the former American Telephone & Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T Corp.). On January 8, 1 ...

, or "Baby Bells", the C&P Telephone companies became part of

Bell Atlantic Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...

. In 1994, Bell Atlantic renamed all of its operating companies. C&P Telephone was renamed: *Bell Atlantic – Maryland, Inc. *Bell Atlantic – Virginia, Inc. *Bell Atlantic – Washington, D.C., Inc. *Bell Atlantic – West Virginia, Inc. After Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE in 2000, the system was renamed

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

, and so were its

. The C&P companies were renamed: *Verizon Maryland, Inc. *Verizon Virginia, Inc. *Verizon Washington, DC, Inc. *Verizon West Virginia, Inc. In 2010, Verizon left the West Virginia wireline market entirely, selling Verizon West Virginia to

as part of a major sale of assets. The company was renamed Frontier West Virginia, Inc. In 2011, Verizon Virginia became a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

, changing its name to Verizon Virginia LLC. In December 2012, Verizon Maryland, Inc., incorporated in

, was merged into Verizon Maryland Merge Co., a Delaware corporation; the name of the Delaware-based company was then changed to Verizon Maryland LLC

References

External links

Verizon Maryland

Verizon Virginia

Verizon Washington DC
{{DEFAULTSORT:CandP Telephone Bell System Verizon Communications Communications in Maryland Communications in Virginia Communications in Washington, D.C. Economy of the Eastern United States Telecommunications companies of the United States Telecommunications companies established in 1883