World’s Largest Telephone

Off Maine Street in the middle of Bryant Pond, you’ll find the World’s Largest Phone. It is a monument to an interesting historical fact. Bryant Pond was the last town in America to give up the old-style phones – the kind where turned a crank, a switchboard operator answered, and you told them who you wanted them to connect you to.

The rest of America had long ago moved on to rotary phones where you could actually complete the call by yourself. But in tiny Bryant Pond, the local Telephone Company kept the crank phone system in operation until it was finally disconnected in 1983. You can read that Tale over here called Don’t Yank the Crank.

Family-Run Business

Elden and Barbara Hathaway bought the Bryant Pond Telephone Company in 1951 and ran it out of their living room until they sold it in 1981. The Hathaways and the phones were a central part of the Bryant Pond community, serving as much more than just a telephone switchboard. After the business was sold, the residents tried to save it, and even started a campaign called “Don’t Yank the Crank” that got national coverage. But when the Public Utility Commission denied their request, the system was doomed. The last call was placed in 1983 and rotary phones took over for good.

Sculpture is Unveiled

On October 13, 2008, a 14 foot tall phone replica was unveiled next to the Post Office in Remembrance Park. It was created by Gil Whitman and dedicated to the memory of the Hathaways. The switchboard is on display at the Maine State Museum in Augusta.