Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Carter Hill Filling Station, Marlborough, Conn.

Not sure if any of you have been here, but it's a replica of an old filling station. There's a small Western Union sign there. It says "Western Union telegrams may be telephoned from here." Was this a service normally offered by filling stations in the days before toll-free calling or is it just a cool period sign?

Probably not a normal service station service but back in the day when telegraphs were the fastest way of communication this guy offered up his phone to call Western Union to receive or call out a telegraph. The usual way was go to nearest depot and do business with them as they all had telegraph. Should be a pretty rare sign and accurate. He offered this service to pick up a little more business and telephones weren't common then. Just my 2c

Yes, I believe so. Probably only at the country store & gas station combo, verses the gas station & repair shop. Probably needed a clerk to do the transaction. Most gas stations had a pay phone when they came along.

Thanks again, Bob. In more rural areas were the filling stations colocated with a store than in the urban/suburban areas? When I was young before self serve became the norm, it seemed like the stations in the area I lived in (suburban) were associated with garages, then mini-marts became more prevalent circa 1980.