a brief history of barbed wire fence telephone networks

[erronis]

https://loriemerson.net/2024/08/31/a-brief-history-of-barbed-wire-fence-telephone-networks/
Lori Emerson

f you look at the table of contents for my book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, you'll see that entries on networks before/outside the internet are arranged first by underlying infrastructure and then chronologically. You'll also notice that within the section on wired networks, there are two sub-sections: one for electrical wire and another for barbed wire. Even though the barbed wire section is quite short, it was one of the most fascinating to research and write about - mostly because the history of using barbed wire to communicate is surprisingly long and almost entirely undocumented, even though barbed wire fence phones in particular were an essential part of early- to mid-twentieth century rural life in many parts of the U.S. and Canada!

While I was researching barbed wire fence phones and wondering whether any artists had been intrepid enough to experiment with this other network, I came across Phil Peters and David Rueter's work "Barbed Wire Fence Telephone" which they installed in a Chicago gallery in 2015. libi striegl (Managing Director of the Media Archaeology Lab through which we run many of our Other Networks projects) and I decided we should see if we can get Peters and Rueter to re-install their barbed wire fence telephone on the CU Boulder campus...to our delight and surprise, they said yes. But even more delightful and surprising was the fact that the college I'm now based in, the College of Media, Communication, and Information (CMCI), was enthusiastically supportive of our ask to install this fence phone network in a university classroom! In fact, not only was CMCI supportive in principle, they helped fund the project and staff members even helped us drill holes, put up fence posts, and string barbed wire. Phil and libi (with modest assistance from me) wrapped up the installation of "Barbed Wire Fence Telephone II" on Thursday August 29th and on Friday August 30th Phil gave a group of about 20 people a hands-on demo of this ad hoc network.

Since so little documentation exists online about the history of this important communication network, below I include the introduction I wrote for the section on barbed wire along with the entry on barbed wire fence phones. I admit I hope someone adds this information to Wikipedia and cites either this post or Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook (forthcoming in 2025 by Anthology Editions).

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Barbed Wire Networks

Barbed wire was originally proposed as an inexpensive and potentially painful material that could be used to create a fence and thus act as a deterrent to keep livestock within a confined area and/or to keep out intruders. Alan Krell documents numerous designs for wire that featured barbs throughout the 19th century, including one proposed by French inventor Léonce Eugène Grassin-Baledans in 1860 for a "Grating of wire-work for fences and other purposes." The first patent in the U.S. for a wire fence featuring barbs was given to Lucien B. Smith from Kent, Ohio (U.S.) in 1867. Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden submitted a patent for an improved version of barbed wire in 1874 which has since become the dominant design. As Reviel Netz puts it, after this point the physical control of wide open spaces was largely complete. Many farmers objected to the cruelty built into barbed wire, the way in which the fencing meant cattle drives were no longer possible, and the way it marked the end of seemingly free and open public land; notably they formed anti-barbed-wire associations and pleaded with legislators and government officials to enact laws limiting or regulating the use of the wire. Nonetheless, as the price of wire fell from twenty cents per pound in 1874 to two cents a pound by 1893, few ranchers could afford any other type of fencing material. By the 1890s, the barbed wire industry had become wealthy enough and powerful enough that they effectively quelled all opposition to the wire. The availability of inexpensive barbed wire, especially across the western U.S. in the late 19th century, largely made it possible to keep larger herds of livestock than had been possible up to that point. It also played a significant role in "settling" the American west by violently asserting individual ownership over land that was already occupied by Native Americans.

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[underpants]

1. I had never heard of this.

Thanks. Very interesting

[AllaN01Bear]

2. ths

where i live . the phone company started this way i have a calander that i bought at a book sale some where and was a history about the calaveras telephone co. it started with a farmer experimenting with telephones and then he ran a line from the house to the barm. other neighbors who saw that wanted one too. a friend whos dad started the local phone co here did that as well.

[erronis]

3. Wonderful video - thank you!

[Zackzzzz]

4. The Western Audit

I found that Barbed Wire Fences came from The Western Audit on You Tube.
What a great American history site, Thank You!!

My Dad worked at Illinois Bell and built the phones that were used after WW2.
I had a phone, intercom, in my bedroom.
I was such a pest, my Mom removed it.

[erronis]

5. I hadn't looked at this site "The Western Audit" - it is a treasure trove of information - much uncomfortable.

Just now looking at one on the match companies (Diamond Match) and the death and disfigurement caused.

Thanks for highlighting this!

[Brother Buzz]

6. We had a barbed wire system, a private system that serviced the rural areas with a switchboard at the drug store

Horribly unreliable in rainy weather, and the farmers rejoiced when Pacific Bell finally strung lines to them.