KAWARTHA LAKES-In the late nineteenth century, electricity and the telephone became practical technologies that had the potential to become part of daily life in rural Ontario. The telegraph reached the Kawarthas before the telephone, and in Burnt River, like many other communities, telegraphs were sent from the railway station. Frequently used for business communications, they needed to be short (like text messages today) and were relatively expensive to send. Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876, and in 1891, Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon and Lindsay residents agreed to support a Bell Telephone installation linking the three communities.
For the first few years, telephone was an expensive luxury, typically limited to larger businesses or wealthy individuals. But in the early twentieth century, ever more families aspired to have this convenience. The Bell Telephone Company was Canada’s largest and most famous operator, but could not afford to service every small community. Private telephone companies were common in rural Canada—by 1921, Ontario had 689 other phone companies.
After a series of public meetings, local residents bought shares in the Burnt River Telephone Company, allowing it to open in 1908. It initially operated out of Sam Suddaby’s house—he was the first operator, and his home also served as post office. By the end of the year, the company had established communications with Fenelon Falls and Kinmount. In 1911, the Burnt River Telephone company reached Baddow and Coboconk, crossing the Burnt River on the ingenious suspension bridge that William Wilson built out of page wire on the Third Concession (imagine what safety inspectors would say today!). Kinmount had its own, smaller telephone company had 33 customers at its peak, and the Rumney Settlement Telephone Company served 14 (named for a community on the east side of Shadow Lake).
It was a wonderful convenience to have a telephone, allowing neighbours to pick up a device and talk to each other (or eavesdrop on them!). Each home on a party line was supposed to recognize its own combination of long and short rings, but everyone knew not to say anything on the phone that you wouldn’t say to your neighbour’s face. To call someone on a different party line, they would make one long ring, to summon Burnt River Central. The caller would say, “my name is ________, I would like to talk to ________.” Then the operator would know to connect them to the other line, and ring the correct house.
Burnt River Telephone Company site today
The former Suddaby home was consumed in the Great Fire of Burnt River in 1944, and has since been replaced with a bungalow. After the Second World War, the company substantially expanded, with Verlie Chalmers as its well-known operator. For a few years, Burnt River Central was located in her home, which was across from the Anglican Church. In 1956, it moved to the home of Mrs. Jack Mark, where it would remain. By 1970, it operated 516 telephones in Somerville, Verulam, Galway, Snowdon and Lutterworth Townships. Bell Telephone had grown so it could serve practically every little community in Ontario was actively buying out competing companies. It was a struggle for small companies like the Burnt River Telephone Company to switch from manual exchanges to direct dial service. In 1967, the company directors voted unanimously to sell out to Bell, effective November 15, 1970.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected]or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
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