Telegraph

The 1865 photograph from the top of Bridge Street shows a narrow dirt lane with many barns and buildings that are no longer in existence. Telegraph poles are also evident in the photograph. Telegraph lines ran from the Fairlee train station to the inn on the main street. Telephone service arrived in Orford in 1890 followed by electricity in 1910. However, as with most rural families in the United States, it was not economical for electrical companies to provide power to most rural sectors in the town. In fact, rural households remained without a number of modern conveniences. A 1915 survey of the town lists only 35 families with modern heating and plumbing.