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When Fences Became Phone Lines
In the 1890s, Great Plains farmers faced a problem: they desperately needed telephones, but the Bell Telephone Company thought rural areas were too expensive and unsophisticated to serve. So, farmers built their own system—using barbed wire fences. By 1920, these homemade networks had made farmers more connected than city dwellers. This is the story of whiskey bottle insulators, party line eavesdropping, and how the devil's rope became a lifeline across the isolated prairie.
Want to see more? See historical photos and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains
Want to learn more?
"A Cheap Telephone System for Farmers." Scientific American 82, no. 13 (March 31, 1900): 196. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24982232.
"A Wire Fence Telephone Wanted." Scientific American 71, no. 16 (October 20, 1894): 249. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26115301.
Arguimbau, Ellen. "From Party Lines and Barbed Wire: A History of Telephones in Montana." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 63, no. 3 (Autumn 2013): 34–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24416215.
Dawson Public Power District. "Ghost Towns: A Look at Our Past." Accessed January 3, 2026. https://dawsonpower.com/2020/10/ghost-towns-a-look-at-our-past/.
Eckhardt, C. F. "Before Ma Bell: Rural Telephone Systems in the West." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/Rural-Telephone-Systems-in-the-West.htm.
Emerson, Lori. "Barbed Wire Networks." In Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. University of Colorado Boulder, forthcoming 2025.
Fischer, Claude S. "The Revolution in Rural Telephony, 1900-1920." Journal of Social History 21, no. 1 (Autumn 1987): 5–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3788072.
Holmes, Bob. "The Wired Wild West." New Scientist 220, no. 2948 (December 21, 2013): 76–77.
Sicilia, David B. "How the West Was Wired." Inc. 19, no. 9 (1997): 74.
Trew, Delbert. "Barbed Wire Telephones." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/DelbertTrew/Barbed-Wire-Telephones.htm.
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By Nicole BlackstockIn the 1890s, Great Plains farmers faced a problem: they desperately needed telephones, but the Bell Telephone Company thought rural areas were too expensive and unsophisticated to serve. So, farmers built their own system—using barbed wire fences. By 1920, these homemade networks had made farmers more connected than city dwellers. This is the story of whiskey bottle insulators, party line eavesdropping, and how the devil's rope became a lifeline across the isolated prairie.
Want to see more? See historical photos and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains
Want to learn more?
"A Cheap Telephone System for Farmers." Scientific American 82, no. 13 (March 31, 1900): 196. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24982232.
"A Wire Fence Telephone Wanted." Scientific American 71, no. 16 (October 20, 1894): 249. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26115301.
Arguimbau, Ellen. "From Party Lines and Barbed Wire: A History of Telephones in Montana." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 63, no. 3 (Autumn 2013): 34–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24416215.
Dawson Public Power District. "Ghost Towns: A Look at Our Past." Accessed January 3, 2026. https://dawsonpower.com/2020/10/ghost-towns-a-look-at-our-past/.
Eckhardt, C. F. "Before Ma Bell: Rural Telephone Systems in the West." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/Rural-Telephone-Systems-in-the-West.htm.
Emerson, Lori. "Barbed Wire Networks." In Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. University of Colorado Boulder, forthcoming 2025.
Fischer, Claude S. "The Revolution in Rural Telephony, 1900-1920." Journal of Social History 21, no. 1 (Autumn 1987): 5–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3788072.
Holmes, Bob. "The Wired Wild West." New Scientist 220, no. 2948 (December 21, 2013): 76–77.
Sicilia, David B. "How the West Was Wired." Inc. 19, no. 9 (1997): 74.
Trew, Delbert. "Barbed Wire Telephones." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/DelbertTrew/Barbed-Wire-Telephones.htm.