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The Mt. Vernon Telephone Company was organized on June 25, 1895, under the laws of West Virginia, with a paid-in
capital stock of $20,000. At the first meeting of the stockholders, Frank L. Beam was elected president of the
company, which office he held continuously until the company was reorganized under the name of the Mt. Vernon Telephone
Corporation in 1929, a period of 34 years.
Mr. Beam was active in the independent movement in Ohio and was instrumental in organizing and operating a number
of other companies, including the Millersburg, Orrvile and Wooster Telephone Company, the Franklin County Telephone
Company, the Columbus Citizens Telephone Company, of which he served as general manager for many years, the Union
County Telephone Company, the Licking Telephone Company, and as a stockholder in many others. He also served as
president of the Ohio Independent Telephone Association for more than 20 years.
At the end of the first year's operation, the Mt. Vernon Telephone Company had in service 262 telephones, and at
the end of the second year, 300, with a continual growth each year until at the present time it has in service
approximately 6,000 telephones. Exchanges are operated at Mt. Vernon, Gambier, Danville, Fredericktown, and Centerburg
in Knox County. The company has its own joint toll lines connecting all neighboring counties.
Knox County has a population of approximately 30,000, and is one of the foremost agricultural counties in the state.
It is first in the sheep industry. Located at Mt. Vernon are the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation, manufacturers of
gas engines, the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company, the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, the Lamb Glass Company, and several
other thriving industries. Mt. Vernon, with a population, including suburbs, of approximately 11,000, has 3,525
telephones in service or a telephone for every 3.1 persons, which is a very high saturation. The county with a
population of 30,000 has a telephone for every five persons, which is also a remarkable saturation.
The officers of the Mt. Vernon Telephone Corporation are: John F. Kent, president; R. H. Coyne, vice president;
F. J. VanVoorhis, secretary. The directors are: John F. Kent, R. H. Coyne, F. J.
VanVoorhis, T. J. Grace, William S. Green, Frank L. Beam, and Henry C. Devin.
From:
History of North Central Ohio
Embracing Richland, Ashland, Wayne,
Medina, Lorin, Huron and Knox Counties
BY: William A. Duff
Historical Publishing Company
Topeka-Indianapolis 1931
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