On the southwest corner of Main and Pine streets sits a little brick building that was once a hub of Ridgeway communication. Completed 1910 by the Farmers’ Mutual Telephone Company of Harrison County, the building served as one of Ridgeway’s telephone central offices, eventually becoming the only central office. Built by W. J. Noll of Gilman City and J.T. Carroll of Denver, CO, the two-story 30’ by 30’ brick building was started in November 1909 on a site formerly owned by A. A. Gutteridge. (Ridgeway Journal, Nov 11, 1909). This site was also once the home of the first dry goods store in Ridgeway, owned and operated by S.D. Rardin. (Ridgeway Journal, 3/17/1910).
At that time, the lead operator(s) lived on the first floor of the building, and I guess the telephone operators worked upstairs. The first people to move into the new telephone exchange were Mr. and Mrs John Rake. (RJ, 3/10/1910). Another family, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Kampman, their daughter Claudine and their son Dean, moved from the central office when Mrs. Kampmann retired from the switchboard after providing years of excellent service. (RJ, 4/4/1934). The building remained in use until 1956 when rotary dial telephones replaced the old ones and switchboard operators were no longer needed. The building has also served as Trophy Taxidermy and as a rental home. I don’t know when the upper story was removed but would be very interested in learning that story.
