A first glance this museum appears to be just a collection of antique telephones but it's actually much more. This is the story of a small, independent, rural phone company that has been in business since 1900. In the early years of telephone communication people living in rural communities formed co-ops and installed poles and lines to all of the homes in their area which were then patched into other rural communities’ phone companies.
Gridley Telephone Company was started by three men but by 1915 the Hoobler family was the sole owner of the company. Charles Hoobler Jr. kept everything and when he retired in 1970, the new owner, Rogers Kaufman, went through all of the old items, artifacts and documents and realized that he had the makings of a museum. Our visit was made very interesting by a personal tour from a knowledgeable and sharp volunteer so take the tour if it is offered.
The museum is accessible. It may be necessary to enter through the library if the museum door is locked. The library door opens out over sloped concrete making entry a bit difficult.
The parking lot behind the museum has enough space for RVs.
Museum 40.74294, -88.88066
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