{"id":6131,"date":"2026-06-29T10:10:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/josephhenry\/?page_id=6131"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:38:22","slug":"western-union","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/josephhenry\/western-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

HSP_TelegraphDecoding_RemoteLearningActivity<\/a><\/p>\n

Document _ 1863 Princeton Telegraph Offices<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n

1869 lecture on the transatlantic cable<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h6>\n
https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/josephhenry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2026\/08\/IMG_0113.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n
<\/h6>\n
https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/josephhenry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2026\/08\/IMG_3325.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h6>\n
https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/josephhenry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2026\/08\/IMG_3377.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n
IMG_0113<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n
IMG_0112<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n
IMG_0111<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Omnigraph Code Practice Machine<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n

https:\/\/www.prc68.com\/I\/Omnigraph.shtml\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Who put telegraph lines on poles?<\/h3>\n
Correspondence, 1874-02-01 – 1874-05-26 _ ArchivesSpace Public Interface<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n
ezra0034_17<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Modern text documents use ASCII code (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h6>\n

ASCII code is a modern version of Morse Code.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

A modern text file (with extension .txt) uses ASCII coding to store each character in a document.\u00a0 The ASCII coding is similar to Morse Code.<\/p>\n

In Morse code a character is made up of ‘dits’ or ‘dahs’.\u00a0 A ‘dit’ has a time duration of one unit of time.\u00a0 A ‘dah’ has a time duration of three units of time.\u00a0 The time spacing between the ‘dits’ and the ‘dahs’ making up a character is one unit of time.\u00a0 The letter Q is ‘dah’, ‘dah’, ‘dit’, ‘dah’.\u00a0 The ‘dit’ and the ‘dah’ is equivalent to a one or a zero in a binary code.\u00a0 The time spacing between a sequential characters is three units of time and the time spacing between words is seven units of time.<\/p>\n

In ASCII code a character is made up of ones and zeros in a group.\u00a0 The group is a combination of eight ones and zeros known as a byte.\u00a0 The individual one or zero is known as a bit.\u00a0 Bit is a name coined by Prof. John Tukey of Princeton and is short for ‘binary digit’.\u00a0 The letter Q in ASCII code is 01010001 (HEX format, 51 – HEX format is made up of 2 four-bit groups – a 5 in a four-bit group is 0101 and a one in a four-bit group is 0001).\u00a0 The letter q in ASCII code (that is lower case Q) is 01110001 (HEX format, 71).\u00a0 When an ASCII text file is being sent along a wire (for example on an ETHERNET cable), each bit lasts for a set unit of time.\u00a0 Like Morse Code, there is a waiting time of before the next character is sent.<\/p>\n

ASCII code is a descendent of the original Morse code.\u00a0 It is in common use in modern times to store and transmit information.<\/p>\n

A table of ASCII 8-bit code is below.\u00a0 Below that is Morse code.\u00a0 In Morse code a letter might be made up of one, two, three, or four ‘dits’ and ‘dahs’.\u00a0 Numbers are made up fo five ‘dits’ and ‘dahs’.\u00a0 In ASCII code, letters, numbers, and control characters are all made up of 8 ones and zeros.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Movement of Western Union At Princeton<\/h3>\n

The original telegraph company operating out of Princeton was the Magnetic Telegraph Company. The company was then acquired by the American Telegraph Company. Then, the American Telegraph Company merged into Western Union. So, it is probable that the office that was home to the Magnetic Telegraph Company probably was also the office of the American Telegraph Company.<\/p>\n

D_s_American_and_European_Railway_and_St go to page 167<\/a><\/p>\n

This is further reinforced by a newspaper written in 1860 complaining about how far the telegraph office was from Princeton, being at the head of Canal St instead of a place more convenient for Princeton residents. The head of Canal St is fairly close to Princeton basin. So, the telegraph office was still probably located at Princeton basin even after the Magnetic Telegraph Company was acquired by the American Telegraph Company in 1859. It mentions Bear Swamp, probably a sarcastic remark about how the people who run the telegraph office should move there in order to further inconvenience the people of Princeton. Bear Swamp is in Mercer County, probably close to Bear Brook which is several miles away from Princeton.<\/p>\n

\"\"princetonstandard_18601003_0003<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"princetonpress_18540929_0003<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/collections\/samuel-morse-papers\/articles-and-essays\/timeline\/1840-1872\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a local article written in 1863, the American Telegraph Office was located in the Camden & Amboy office. It also recognized that there was a second, independent telegraph company operating in Princeton which was not very popular. The article complained that the American office charged high fees for delivering messages and that the independent office didn’t advertise itself so nobody really knew about it.<\/p>\n

Document _ 1863 Princeton Telegraph Offices<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n

This Independent telegraph office was probably apart of the Independent Telegraph Company which was merged into the Western Union alongside the American Telegraph Company. This means that after 1866, there was only 1 telegraph office in Princeton. So, here onwards any mention of a telegraph office would be to the Western Union office.<\/p>\n

NMAH.AC.0205 PAGE 20 <\/a><\/p>\n

A brief mention in The Princetonian mentioned that the telegraph office that was in Dr. Baker’s store was to be moved to Stelle and Smith’s book store. So, sometime between the years 1866 and 1872 the Western Union office was at Dr. Baker’s store and then moved to Stella and Smith’s book store which it resided up until 1873. Dr Baker’s store is described as opposite the college. That would mean that the store was likely located on Nassau St.<\/p>\n

\"\"weasaaaaprincetonian_18720309_0003<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"NassauLit_18641001_0072<\/a><\/p>\n

The Press building was located on Witherspoon St so the Western Union office was located somewhere around 70 Witherspoon St. This was the Western Union office between the years 1873 and 1876 when it was again moved.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

princetonpress_18730222_0003<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"princetonpress_18761014_0003 (1)<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1881 there is a mention of a Western Union office located on or near Railroad Ave. This Indicates that at some time before 1881 the Western Union office again shifted locations.<\/p>\n

\"\"princetonpress_18810403_0003 (1)<\/a><\/p>\n

Again, the office was listed as to be removed from where it was and moved to a building next to the post office and back into the press building. This was in 1886.<\/p>\n

\"\"Princetonian_1886-10-18_v11_n41_0001 (1)<\/a><\/p>\n

The office then moved to Lower Pyne or 104 Nassau St. The construction of this building was commissioned by Moses Taylor Pyne.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/sirismm.si.edu\/EADpdfs\/NMAH.AC.0205.pdf<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0–\u00a0 \u00a0 page 20<\/p>\n

Pyne & Gildersleeve<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n