#HistoricTrion | AM 1180 Radio

November 2, 2026

Chattooga County Historical Society Unveils 2026 Christmas Ornament Featuring Historic Trion Railroad Bridge

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The Chattooga County Historical Society has unveiled its 2026 collectible Christmas ornament, featuring one of the county’s oldest surviving landmarks — the historic Trion Railroad Bridge.

September 21, 2026

by Jimmy Holbrook

From Lamplight To Long Distance: How Electricity And Telephones Changed Chattooga County

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Telephone operators at the Summerville Telephone Company on the final day of operator-assisted telephone service in 1960. Direct dialing began the following day. (Photo courtesy of Ben Bridges/Chattooga Photo History)

For people living in Chattooga County today, flipping a light switch or making a telephone call is so ordinary that little thought is given to either one.

But a little more than a century ago, both represented technologies that were beginning to fundamentally change everyday life.

There was a time when darkness meant lighting an oil lamp, when many homes drew their water from wells, and when making a long-distance telephone call in Chattooga County meant traveling into Summerville and going inside a local store.

The arrival of electricity and the telephone didn’t happen everywhere at once. The technologies spread gradually through mills, businesses and towns before becoming commonplace in homes throughout the county.

And when it came to electricity, Trion was among the first places in Chattooga County to enter the electrical age.