Jekyll Island Georgia Telephone Monument

[Fabius]

Came across a postcard showing an outdoor monument commemorating the first transcontinental telephone call. I didn't know Jekyll Island was part of the call to Bell in San Francisco, Watson in NYC and President Wilson in Washington DC. But since Mr Vail was president of AT&T and was at Jekyll Island then he had a line put in to his location so he could take part.   That monument was still in place in 2013. The side view picture was taken in 2013. Hopefully it is still there.

On January 25, 1915 Theodore N. Vail, the first president of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), participated from Jekyll Island in the opening of the first telephone line across the United States.  Being January would explain why Mr Vail was in South Carolina instead of New York City and he was recovering from a leg injury.

http://www.jekyllislandhistory.com/transcontinental.shtml

[Dan/Panther]

If that's an original phone, It would be a miracle if it's still there.
When was it erected ?

D/P

[oldguy]

Does anybody on here live in that area & would be willing to check it out?

[wds]

Doesn't seem that being in an enclosed plastic enclosure like that, out in the sun, would be very good for the phone.

[FABphones]

This close up photo on the internet, photo taken 2017.
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-p/0e/44/39/42/photo1jpg.jpg

The monument appears to be underneath a canopy of trees.

ETA: Erected January 22, 1965.

[AL_as_needed]

Wonder if some local entity checks in on it time to time and oils the wood/cleans the plastic. I would imagine since the 60s, most clear plastic would have crazed over by now in regular sunlight.

[Pourme]

You would think as UV protection progressed over the past 60 years, they would upgrade the display, as well....

[paul-f]

Read all about the history of the call in the January 2015 Singing Wires.

100 Years—Transcontinental Telephone
by Paul Wills, Page 3

The Transcontinental Telephone Line
-Jekyll Island History
by Tyler E. Bagwell, Page 4