Who We Are - Our History

THE HISTORY OF DARIEN TELEPHONE COMPANY

Darien Telephone Company original office and the Jackson Home

The first telephone arrived in Darien, Georgia in 1911, brought from Jefferson County, Georgia by W.S. and E.P. Long. At this time, the city of Darien issued a franchise license to G.M. Coates and Wamon Nelson to construct and maintain telephone lines to provide service.

Over the next ten years, ownership of the company changed hands a couple of times. Then, in 1921, Joseph Christopher Jackson purchased the Darien Telephone Company. Jackson operated the company until his death in 1924, at which time ownership was passed on to his widow, Mary Anna Jackson. Mrs. Jackson's son and daughter-in-law, Richard Vernon "Dick" Jackson and Bessie Ridley Jackson, continued to assist her with the operation of the company from her home where the switchboard and the equipment were located on the second floor.

In 1942, Dick and Bessie Jackson purchased the Darien Telephone Company (DTC), which consisted of a magneto switchboard with fifty lines. As technologies continued to evolve, so did DTC. The switchboard was changed to a common battery board in 1948, followed by dial service in the Eulonia and Darien exchanges in 1957 and 1961 respectively. By this time, DTC had 734 stations in service and had moved into a modern brick office building. In 1972 the Darien Telephone Company purchased Atlas Utilities from R.J. Reynolds, Jr. With this acquisition , DTC began providing service to Sapelo Island. By 1976, subscribers in the Darien and Eulonia exchanges all had the luxury of private one-party telephone service.

Richard Vernon Jackson died on June 22, 1985, leaving the operation to his widow, Bessie Jackson. In October of 1986, the old step switch offices were converted to digital central offices. Three years later, Bessie Jackson passed away, leaving the current elected officers to run the company. They are as follows: Mary Lou Jackson Forsyth - President; Reginald V. Jackson - Vice President; and Mary Alice Forsyth Thomas - Secretary and Treasurer.