In this episode, listeners learn how the telegraph changed communication in Michigan during the 1800s, allowing messages to travel almost instantly instead of taking hours or days. The discussion explores the growth of telegraph networks across the state and how this groundbreaking technology transformed the way people connected with one another.
This is Amy Wagonar from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment.
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In April:
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About 15 to 20 miles per hour.
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A month later, it could travel at the speed of light.
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What accounted for that breathtaking advance?
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The telegraph.
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imore and Washington, D.C. in:
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Using electromagnetic pulses, the telegraph sent messages over the wires at the speed of light and revolutionized communications.
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t demonstrated in Michigan in:
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Two years later, state legislators authorized telegraph companies to string wires along any public road and across waterways and bridges.
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Almost immediately, the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company was formed to build a line from Buffalo, New York to Milwaukee, Wisconsin via the southern Lower Peninsula.
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Ezra Cornell, the founder of Cornell University, took on the job of building the 398 mile line from Buffalo to Detroit.
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John James Thieve, Jr. Had the work of linking Detroit with Milwaukee, a distance of 414 miles.
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Wooden poles and iron wire began a march across the country, entering Michigan from Toledo, Ohio, through Monroe and into Detroit.
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From Detroit, they advanced westward toward Chicago along the route of the Michigan Central Railroad.
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ring the winter and spring of:
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The Telegraph Company charged for messages based on the distance and number of words.
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A message from Detroit to Ann Arbor cost 15 cents for the first 15 words plus a penny for each extra word.
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Sending a message from Detroit to niles cost 30 cents for the first 15 words and 1 cent more for each additional word.
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In:
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It reached the windy City in:
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With several competing telegraph businesses vying for a share of the lucrative trade.
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Price cutting soon caused bankruptcy to loom over all the companies serving Michigan.
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This Michigan history moment was brought to you by MichiganHistoryMagazine.org.
