On\u00a0the afternoon of February 8, 1889, the alarm at telephone patrol box number 3 at Front Street between Main and Brady Streets was sounded by an officer on patrol.\u00a0 It was the first alarm sounded on the week-old system that could be looked upon as a the nineteenth century’s version of 911.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Democrat-Gazette <\/em>reported that same evening on the front page that within four minutes of the call, the police chief, the patrol driver, and two policemen arrived at the scene in the new patrol wagon purchased to go along with the system.\u00a0 Upon arrival, the officers assisted in the arrest of a reportedly unruly and argumentative gentleman.\u00a0 The speed of arrival was in part due to the talented horses purchased to pull the patrol wagon.\u00a0 Driver Sherman Perry had trained the two horses to quickly move on their own into harnessing position upon hearing the alarm sound in the patrol barn.\u00a0 This, according to the article,\u00a0allowed the horses to be hooked up and ready within 90 seconds.<\/p>\n As early as July of 1888, \u00a0the Davenport City Council began working on implementing the new system.\u00a0 The Police Committee\u00a0 purchased the equipment in October for a cost of $45 per phone box.\u00a0 An additional box was purchased the following month.\u00a0\u00a0 The committee also negotiated pricing with the phone company and found locations for all boxes.\u00a0 A new patrol rig and two horses, as mentioned above, were then purchased.\u00a0 A phone\/alarm was also added to the stable area so the patrol driver (and apparently the horses) would hear the call sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n The call boxes were most likely of heavy cast iron and would have been mounted on a stand-alone pole or attached to an existing structure.\u00a0 Keys were carried by officers on patrol.\u00a0 If the officer needed assistance he inserted the key into the front of the box.\u00a0 The door opened and the officer picked up a hand telephone, cranked the handle once and waited for the station to answer.\u00a0 Other keys were given to local (and obviously trusted) citizens who lived near the boxes. \u00a0They were to assist individuals in need with the phone if a patrol officer was not available. The names of these individuals were printed in the newspaper along with the article.\u00a0 Since help could be needed day or night, it makes one wonder if anyone thought twice before agreeing to be a citizen key holder!<\/p>\n Beside the eleven box locations and the names and addresses of the citizen key holders, the newspaper article also covered proper phone usage during an emergency call.\u00a0 Pointers included standing with your mouth six to ten inches from the mouthpiece while speaking in an ordinary voice (no shouting please) and remembering to hang up the phone after use so the battery did not die.<\/p>\n What were the intrepid citizen key holders to report?\u00a0 The list included disturbances, suspicious characters, tramps, nuisances, defective sidewalks, and fires.\u00a0 I think we can see one item in particular that\u00a0our present-day 911 operators wouldn’t appreciate being called about!<\/p>\n On a side note, there is at least one old patrol box still known to exist from the city of Davenport.\u00a0 Kept by a local historical society, it unfortunately does not have a key.\u00a0 Until it is opened, the date of the device cannot be ascertained.\u00a0 If it ever is opened, maybe we will be able to get some pictures of the inside and add a Part II to this blog article!<\/p>\n (posted by Amy D<\/em>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On\u00a0the afternoon of February 8, 1889, the alarm at telephone patrol box number 3 at Front Street between Main and Brady Streets was sounded by an officer on patrol.\u00a0 It was the first alarm sounded on the week-old system that … Continue reading