Telephone Exchange Directories were published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by various telephone companies such as the Maryland Telephone & Telegraph Company, Cincinnati Bell Telephone, and the Missouri & Kansas Telephone Company. These types of directories are organized more traditionally by name.
Consequently, coverage is idiosyncratic. Many places that are covered may not have many or all listings. Some may cover large swaths of geography, often whole states, or even cross state lines. A single directory may cover places or exchanges in two or three states or it may include a single city. When possible, information on the specific exchanges and/or places covered has been included.
How these directories are organized and what is contained in them depends on the publisher so they can be only residential, only commercial, or contain both residential and commercial listings. Lastly, many times there were multiple directories per year and that has been noted.
If you are interested in looking at these items, you will need to request them via the Library of Congress Online Catalog.
| EXCHANGES | TITLE | CALL NUMBER | HOLDINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | National telephone directory. American telephone and telegraph company |
HE8811.A51 | 1894-1897 |
| Alabama (Montgomery, Opelika, Prattville, Selma, Tuskegee) Georgia (Albany, Americus, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Covington, Greensboro, Griffin, Macon, Madison, Marietta, Newnan, Rome, Thomasville) | Atlanta telephone exchange. | HE8841.A8 | 1895, 1898 |
|
Maryland (Annapolis, Baltimore, Cumberland, Frederick, Frostburg, Hagerstown, Lonaconing, Westminster) Washington, D.C., West Virginia (Martinsburg) |
Official telephone list... | HE8841.B22 | 1895-97, 1899-1901 |
| Maryland (Baltimore City, Aberdeen, Bel Air, Churchville, Havre De Grace, Highland, Jarrettsville, Perry Hall, Reckford, Delta, Ellicott City, Frederick, Westminster) Delaware (Wilmington) | Maryland telephone and telegraph co. of Baltimore City. | HE8841.B23 | 1900, 1901 |
| Baltimore City | Classified Business Telephone Directory of Baltimore City | HE8841.B42 | 1893 |
| Boston Exchange (Arlington, Bedford, Braintree, Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Charlestown, Chelsea, Dedham, Dorchester, East Boston, Everett, Hingham, Holbrook, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Quincy, Randolph, Reading, Revere, Sharon, Somerville, Stoneham, Stoughton, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, West Roxbury, Weymouth, Wilmington, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn) | Official directory long distance telephone ... (New England) or List of subscribers ... and business directory | HE8841.B72 | 1886-1888 (multiple volumes per year) |
| Boston Exchange (Arlington, Bedford, Braintree, Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Charlestown, Chelsea, Dedham, Dorchester, East Boston, Everett, Hingham, Holbrook, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Nantasket, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Quincy, Randolph, Reading, Revere, Sharon, Somerville, Stoneham, Stoughton, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, West Roxbury, Weymouth, Wilmington, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn) | Suburban division (New England) | HE8841.B74 | 1889 |
| N. New York (Buffalo, Charlote, Dansville, East Aurora, Geneso, gowanda, Hamburg, Honeoye Falls, Lancaster, Le Roy, Lockport, Median, Middleport, Mount Morris, Niagra Falls, Rochester, Tonawanda, Warsaw, etc.) | Official list of subscribers... (Buffalo) | HE8841.B92 | 1897-1900 (multiple volumes per year) |
| Chicago (Aurora, Austin, Batavia, Blue Island, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Elgin, Englewood, Evanston, Geneva, harvey, Joliet, Lake Forest, Morris, Oak Park, Pullman, South chicago, St. Charles, Waukegan) | Chicago telephone directory ... | HE8841.C52 | 1884, 1885, 1894-1899 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Chicago | Numerical telephone directory of Chicago, Illinois, August 1890. | HE8841.C52 | 1890 |
| Chicago | Auxiliary telephone directory of Chicago ... | HE8841.C52 | 1896 |
| Ohio (Cincinatti, Hamilton), Indiana (Lawrenceburg, Aurora) | List of subscribers, public pay stations, local and long distance connections ... | HE8841.C6 | 1895-1900 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Cleveland | Directory of the Cleveland Telephone Company | HE8841.C65 | 1899 |
| Colorado (Denver, Aguilar, Aspen, Boulder, Canon City, Central City, Colorado Springs and Manitou, Cripple Creek, Florence, Fort Collins, Georgetown, Golden, Greely, Idaho Springs, Lafayette, Leadville, Livermore and Longmont, Pueblo, Trinidad, Walsenburg) | Telephone directory (January, 1899) | HE8841.C72 | 1899 |
| Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth, Paris, Sherman, Gainesville, Denison) | Southwestern telegraph & telephone company's directory, North Texas division ... | HE8841.D14 | 1891 |
| Denver | Telephone business directory of Denver. (Brownell) | HE8841.D42 | 1905, 1906 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Denver | Brownell index. | HE8841.D43 | 1910 |
| Michigan (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Darborn, Lenox and Richmond, Marine City, Monroe, Mt. Clemens, Northville, Plymouth, Pontiac, Romeo, Sand hill, St. Clari, Trenton, Utica, Wyandotte) | Detroit telephone key and directory of subscribers giving the telephone numbers in numerical order ... | HE8841.D47 | 1898 (January, May) |
| Detroit | Combined telephone directory | HE8841.D48 | 1899 |
| Duluth and Superior | Exchange directory for Duluth and West Duluth, | HE8841.D85 | 1895 |
| Grand Rapids | Grand Rapids telephone exchange directory ... | HE8841.G7 |
1897, 1898 |
| Indianapolis | Parker's numerical telephone directory of Indianapolis, Ind. | HE8841.I35 | 1895 |
| Kansas (Atchison, Junction City, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Topeka) Missouri (Kansas City, Maryville, Sedalia, St. Joseph, Warrensburg) |
Missouri & Kansas Telephone Company List of subscribers in Kansas City exchange. | HE8841.K16 | 1885, 1886, 1888-1891, 1893, 1994, 1899-1900 (multiple volumes per yr; in 1899 became just Kansas City exchange; prior to that included connected lines) |
| Kansas City | Numerical telephone directory. | HE8841.K18 | 1891 |
| Kansas (Abilene, Arkansas City, Atchison, Emporia, Fort Scott, Hutchinson, Junction City, Lawrence, Kansas City, Olathe, Ottawa, Salina, Topeka, Wichita, Winfield) Missouri (Boonville, Carrollton, Carthage, Clinton, Fulton, Independence, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Marshall, Maryville, Nevada, Odessa, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Sedalia, Springfield, St. Joseph, Warrensburg) |
Missouri Kansas Telephone Company List of subscribers Leavenworth Exchange | HE8841.L43 | 1898-1900 |
| Ohio (New Albany,) Kentucky (Louisville, Shelbyville), Jeffersonville | Ohio Valley Telephone Co. | HE8841.L85 | 1897, 1899 |
| Milwaukee (Exchange: Appleton, Berlin, Cedarburg, Dartfotd and Greenlake, Delvan, DePere, Eagle, Elkhorn, Fond du Lac, Fort Atkinson Green Bay and Ft Howard, Kaukauna, Kenosha, Lake Geneva, Madison, Marinette, Neenah and Menasha, Oconomowoc, Oconto, Oshkosh, Palmyra, Peshtigo, Pewaukee, Port Washington, Racine, Ripon, Sturgeon Bay, Watertown, Waukesha, Waupun, West Bend, Whitewater, Winneconne) | General telephone directory of Milwaukee and conected exchanges ... | HE8841.M6 | 1885-1887 |
| Minneapolis & St. Paul | Missippi (Mississippi) Valley | HE8841.M64 | 1900 |
| Minneapolis, St. Paul | List of subscribers Minneapolis, Minn. | HE8841.M65 | 1889 |
| Montana (Anaconda, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Deer Lodge, Missoula, Helena, Philipsburg (some number in Utah) | Official directory ... Montana system. | HE8841.M75 | 1896-1900 |
| Tennessee (Nashville, Clarksville, Franklin, Gallatin, Lebanon, Lynville, Murfreesboro, Pulaski, Shelbyville, Springfield, Tullahoma, Watertown) | Nashville, Tennessee, directory ... | HE8841.N25 | 1895 |
| Nebraska (Omaha, Ames, Ashland, Aurora, Beatrice, Blair, Blue Springs, Columbus, Council Bluffs, Crete, Fairbury, Fremont, Grand Island, Hastings, Lincoln, Nebraska City, Norfilk, Plattsmouth, Seward,South Omaha, Wahoo, York, etc.) | Telephone Directory for Omaha | HE8841.N36 | 1888, 1895-1898 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Ellwood, New Castle (Pennsylvania) | List of citizens telephones connected with the New Castle and Ellwood City exchanges. (PA) | HE8841.N48 | 1900 |
| New York City | Copeland's Classified Telephone & Select Business Directory of New York City | HE8841.N53 | 1889, 1991 |
| New York City (Brooklyn, Astoria, Babylon, Flatbush, Flushing, Glen Cove, Hempstead, Islip, Staten Island, New Rochelle, Nyack, Port Chester, Sing Sing, Tarrytown, Westchester, White Plains, Yonkers, ) New Jersey (Asbury Park, Bayonne, Bloomfield and Montclair, Dover, Elizabeth, Englewood, Hackensack, Hoboken, Jersey City, Long Branch, Morristown, Newark, New Brunswick, Orange, Passaic, Paterson, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Rahway, Seabright,) | Telephone directory of the New York telephone company and the New York and New Jersey telephone company. | HE8841.N54 | 1892, 1895-1898 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Pennsylvania (Altoon, Bellefonte, Berwick, Bloomsburg, Carbondale, Centre Hall, Clearfield, Curwensville, Danville, Eagles Mere, Freeland, Hazleton, Hollidaysburg, houtzdale, Hughesville, Huntingdon, Jersey Shore, Johnsburg, Kingston, Lewistown, Lock Haven, Millheim, Milton, Mt. Carmel, Muncy, Nanticoke, Osceola, Philipsburg, Pittston, Ridgway, Scranton, Shamokin, State College, St. Marys, Sunbury, Tyronne,White Haven, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, etc.) | Central Pennsylvania Telephoene Supply Company - General Directory | HE8841.P4 | 1889 |
| New Castle, Ellewood City, Wampum (Pennsylvania) | CC Robinson & Co Compiled Telephone Book | HE8841.P47 | 1900 |
| Philadelphia | Business directory of the telephone exchange, Philadelphia. | HE8841.P54 | 1883 |
| Pennsylvania (Allegheny, Allentown, Belfield, Bellevue, Braddock, Bridgeville, Carnegie, Coraopolis, Crafton, East End, Fisk, Hazlewood, Homestead, Jeannette, McKeesport, Manchester, Manor, Oakmont, Pittsburg, Sewickley, Sharpsburg, South Side, Turtle Creek, West End, Wilkinsburg) | R. L. Polk & co.'s numerical and classified telephone directory of Pittsburg, Allegheny and vicinity. | HE8841.P69 | 1898 |
| Rhode Island (Attleboro, Bristol, E. Greenwich, Narragansett Pier, Newport, N. Attleboro, Olneyville, Pascoag, Pawtucket, Pawtucket Valley, Providence, Warren, Warwick, Westerly, Woonsocket) | Providence | HE8841.P92 | 1899, 1900 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Petersburg, Richmond (Virginia) | Official directory Richmond telephone exchange ... Petersburg telephone exchange ... | HE8841.R53 | 1898 |
| Kansas (Arkansas City, Atchison, Emporia, Fort Scott, Hutchinson, Junction City, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Kansas City, Olathe, Ottawa, Salina, Topeka, Wichita, Winfield) Missouri (Boonville, Carrollton, Carthage, Clinton, Fulton, Independence, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Marshall, Maryville, Nevada, Odessa, Pittsburg, Sedalia, Springfield, St. Joseph, Warrensburg) | List of subscribers in St. Joseph exchange. (Missouri and Kansas) | HE8841.S14 | 1898-1900 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| St. Joseph (Missouri) | St. Joseph business and professional directory and telephone guide classified, alphabetical and numerical. | HE8841.S15 | 1894 |
| Missouri (St. Charles, St. Louis, Woodland) Illinois (Alton, Belleville, Collinsville, East. St. Louis, Edwardsville, Freeburg, Glen Carbon, Granite City, Highland, Lebanon, Marissa, Troy, Waterloo) | Telephonic exchange directory ... Missouri. | HE8841.S18 | 1896-1900 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| St. Louis, East St. Louis | Kinloch Telephone Company Directory | HE8841.S19 | 1898, 1899 |
| St. Louis, East St. Louis | Kinloch Telephone Company Directory | HE8841.S193 | 1899 |
| St. Louis | St. Louis telephone index. Containing the names of persons and places in and near where telephones are in St. Louis | HE8841.S2 | 1899 |
| St. Louis | List of subscribers (St Louis) | HE8841.S25 | 1897 |
| Utah (Salt Lake, Provo, Park City, Ogden, Logan, Bingham, Eureka, Springville, Lehi) | Rocky Mountain Bell | HE8841.S3 | 1895 |
| San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland | San Francisco classified business telephone directory for San Francisco and suburbs. | HE8841.S35 | 1893 |
| Texas (Alvarado, Aurora, Bells, Blossom Prairie, Bohnam, Brookston, Burlington, Cleburne, Clarksville, Commerce, Dallas, Decatur, Denison, Denton, Eagle Ford, Ennis, Farmersville, Forney, Forth Worth, Gainsville, Grapevine, Graham, Greenville, Hillsboro, Honey Grove, Italy, Jacksboro, Kaufman, Lancaster, Midlothian, Milford, McKinney, Montague, Paris, Red Oak, Savoy, Sherman, South Mayd., St. Joe, Terrell, Van Alstyne, Waketon, Waco, Waxahachie, Weatherford, West, Whitt, Whitesboro) | Telephone directory of northern Texas... | HE8841.T35 | 1885 |
| Kansas (Topeka, Abilene, Arkansas City, Atchison, Emporia, Fort Scott, Hutchinson, Junction City, Lawrence, Kansas City, Leavenworth, Olathe, Ottawa, Salina, Wichita, Winfield) Missouri (Boonville, Carrollton, Carthage, Clinton, Fulton, Independence, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Marshall, Maryville, Nevada, Odessa, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Sedalia, Springfield, St. Joseph, Warrensburg) | List of subscribers in Topeka exchange, Oct. 1898. | HE8841.T6 | 1898-1900 (multiple volumes per yr) |
| Bucks County, PA | Official alphabetical and numerical list of subscribers of the Home telephone company [in Trenton, N.J.] including a complete list of the Standard telephone co.'s list of subscribers in Bucks county, Pa. ... (November 1, 1899.) | HE8841.T8 | 1899 |
| Washington, D.C., Maryland (Baltimore, Wallbrook, Lutherville, Mt. Washington, Cumberland, Frostberg, Lonaconing, Frederick Hagerstown, Westminster, Bel Air, Berkeley Springs, Ellicott City, Fork, Glyndon, Hyattsville, Laurel, Rockville, Sandy Spring, Wilna) West Virginia (Martinsburg, Piedmont) Virginia (Falls Church) (this title changed over time, latter issues covered different places- this list is a list of all the places covered even if they don't appear in all issues) | Telephone directory of the Chesapeake and Potomac telephone company ... | HE8841.W31 | 1893, 1895, 1896, 1898-1903, 1905, 1907 |
| Washington, D.C. | Washington post...classified business directory, with numerical telephone guide... | HE8841.W32 W3 | 1929/1930 |
