Historical Marker

Livingston Telephone Company

Polk County's oldest public utility, the Livingston Telephone Company was organized Aug. 3, 1903, with S. H. Smith as president. The locally owned, independent telephone exchange operated a 24-hour switchboard on the second floor of a building at 315 N. Jackson. the system started with 40 hand-cranked telephones in service. By the time creosoted poles were installed in 1909, there were 124 telephones in use. In 1959 the exchange was converted to a fully automatic dialing system.