The first “proximity alarm” was patented in 1853 by a Boston inventor named Augustus Russell Pope. The alarm was connected to doors and windows, and would go off if anyone attempted to break in. Pope sold his invention to Edwin Holmes who established the first modern alarm company, the Holmes Electric Protection Company.
Alexander Graham Bell also got into the act. He used his successful telephone technology to create the first alarm monitoring station. In 1877 the first telephone switchboard connected five banks.
Bank robbery was common in the 1800s. By being connected, each bank could notify the others of a robbery. Someone from the other bank would then call the police. Bank staff could also describe the robber in real time, making a more accurate wanted poster drawing more likely.
On this date in 1907, a new alarm system was big news in Hope, North Dakota. The First National Bank had announced the installation of the best burglar alarm money could buy. The cost came to over one thousand dollars. The New Double Automatic Electrical Burglar Alarm System was a marvel manufactured and installed by the American Bank Protection Company of Minneapolis. Members of the community were invited to a demonstration.
The alarm system was installed in the bank vault, which was lined with electrical steel sheeting. The sheeting connected to a switchboard inside the vault. Upon any tampering, seven gongs would sound. One of the gongs was outside the bank building. The Hope Pioneer assured readers that it could be heard in every part of town. Two more gongs were inside the bank, with the remaining four inside the vault itself.
Any attempt to cut through the walls or the vault door would contact the steel sheeting and trigger the system – well before a burglar could get inside. The gongs would sound, and continue to sound until the bank manager reset the system.
The citizens of Hope were impressed. Bank directors were deemed to be “wide-awake and progressive,” providing patrons with “the best protection that can be had.”
Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher
Sources:
Hope Pioneer. “Burglar Alarm.” 18 April 1907. Hope ND. Page 1.
Mijac Alarm Company. “History of Burglar Alarms.” https://www.mijacalarm.com/history-of-burglar-alarms/ Accessed 3/16/2019.
