On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke nine momentous words: "Mr. Watson, come here. I need to see you." It was hardly an earthshaking statement, except for one fact. Bell had spoken the first words ever communicated by telephone. It wasn't much. Thomas Watson, Bell's assistant, was only in the next room. But Bell immediately saw the exciting possibilities. He began working right away to get his invention noticed by the public. The telephone was awarded a medal at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Later that year, at an exhibition in Salem, Massachusetts, Bell spoke with Watson, who was in Boston.
By the turn of the century, businesses had embraced the telephone as an essential tool for reaching the public. There was, however, one difficulty. Telephone users were not always sure how to reach the person or business they wanted to call. The first telephone book was printed in 1878. It contained just fifty entries and was printed on a single sheet of cardboard. It also included instructions on how to use the telephone. New users often tried to speak into the wrong end of the phone and didn't know how to answer a call. Bell's preferred response to receiving a call was to begin the conversation with the word "Ahoy."
The idea of the phone book caught on. Listings included the telephone user's first and last name, address, and telephone number. Business and personal listings were originally published together. As businesses came to rely more and more on the telephone, the Yellow Pages were introduced in 1886 to make it easier to find business telephone numbers and addresses. According to tradition, the feature originated when a printer ran out of white paper and used yellow paper instead.
On this date in 1923, the Bismarck Tribune announced that the new phone book for the North Dakota Independent Telephone Company was ready for distribution. Copies would go out to 3,300 users in Bismarck and Mandan. The new phone book featured listings by last name, followed by first name, address, and telephone number.
The Boy Scouts organized the distribution as a form of public service. The boys learned skills such as organization and teamwork. They also learned the value of seeing a task through to the end. This practice was common in the decades when phone books were essential. Today, they have largely fallen out of use in the digital age.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Bismarck Tribune. “New ‘Phone Book Is Out.” Bismarck ND. 7/9/1923. Page 8.
- Conversation. “The story of the first telephone call – nine words that changed the world.” https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-the-first-telephone-call-nine-words-that-changed-the-world-277694Accessed 6/29/2026.
- Yellow Pages. “History of the Yellow Pages.” https://www.yellowpagesdirectory.com/historyAccessed 6/29/2026.
- Smithsonian Magazine. “The First Phone Book Had Fifty Listings and No Numbers.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/first-telephone-book-had-fifty-listings-and-no-numbers-180962173/Accessed 6/29/2026.
