The End of the Party Line

As technology improved and costs came down, private lines became affordable for more families.

Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, party lines were gradually replaced across most of the country.

For many people, getting a private line felt like a big step into the modern world.

Yet many who grew up with party lines still remember them fondly, as a time when the whole neighborhood was connected, for better or worse.