Coffee & Conversation – The First Telephones and Electric Lights in Walpole

Who in Walpole, a small town of 2500 people (in 1880) would be first adopters of a new invention, the telephone, and why would they suddenly feel they needed one when no one else had them yet? What did the very early transition look like, when telephones were neither commonplace nor essential? And who was the first in Walpole in the 1890s to set up an electric generator to power newly invented, long-lasting light bulbs? And then who wanted to have wires extended from that generator into their house to replace the reliable kerosene lamps that served well for generations? This lecture is based on Betsey Dyer’s book for the Walpole Historical Society, The First Telephones and Electric Lighting in Walpole Massachusetts.