The Economic Times

In 1990, a rural Idaho community of 17 homes made one final phone call. It marked the end of America's last known hand-cranked telephone system

In July 1990, a small community in Idahos remote Salmon River Canyon said goodbye to a telephone system that had survived for decades. Seventeen households shared a hand-cranked, 20-party line that connected residents to one another and the outside world. John Booker made the final call before the old magneto system was replaced by private-line, touch-tone service, marking the end of Americas last known operating hand-cranked telephone system.