Gray Telephone Pay Station Company

The idea for a public pay telephone was conceived in 1887, by William Gray when his wife was ill, and he wasn’t able to call a doctor. William Gray drew up plans and models of his new invention and brought the ideas to Pratt & Whitney, who then commissioned George A. Long, a 16-year old apprentice, to create the first model of the pay telephone based on Gray’s plans. In 1889, the first pay telephone was installed on the ground floor of a bank building at the corner of Main Street and Central Row in Hartford by the Southern New England Telephone Company.

The Gray Telephone Pay Station Company was formed in 1891, after the success of his invention, with William Gray, Amos Whitney, and Charles Soby as officers. In 1901, George A. Long, the Pratt & Whitney apprentice, joined the company.

The Gray Telephone Pay Station Company building located at 16 Arbor Street, Parkville, Hartford built 1912-1913, with an addition in 1925.