Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park
About this property
The Trans-Canyon Telephone line crossed the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim via the Inner Canyon. On the south side of the Canyon, the phone line left the South Rim developed area near Bright Angel Lodge, went down Pipe Creek, and crossed the Colorado River. On the north side, the phone line followed Bright Angel Creek up to the rim to the Wylie Way Tourist Camp before the construction of the Grand Canyon Inn. The line was in place by 1924 and was altered in 1935 and again in 1938-39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has been unchanged since then. Telephone lines were supported using 592 assemblies of 2-inch (5.1 cm) galvanized pipes and fittings, which could be easily transported and assembled with minimal impact to the canyon environment. It was a rare surviving example of open-wire copper-weld technology. The line extended for 18 miles (29 km), paralleling the Bright Angel Trail and the North Kaibab Trail, providing a direct link between the North and South Rims, as well as the Inner Canyon. A spur line ran along the Tonto Trail to the Tipoff. The line was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 13, 1986. Only small portions of the cable are currently in use after a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) circuit to Havasupai Garden was disconnected and the signal moved to a Starlink connection. The National Park Service awarded US Park Ranger Elizabeth "Betsy" Aurnou the 2023 NPS Wright Brothers Aviation Award for her efforts in removing this historic telephone line from the Grand Canyon.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park
This page lists Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park listed on the National Register?
Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1986.
What type of historic resource is Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park?
Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park?
The period of significance for Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Coconino County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Coconino County.
Explore CoconinoCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, Grand Canyon National Park will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.