Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom is an independent, privately owned telephone company serving the Mad River and Central Champlain Valley regions of Vermont. Locally owned and operated, Waitsfield Telecom has been providing telephone service to the Mad River Valley since 1904.

In 1994, Waitsfield Telecom purchased the Champlain Valley service area and renamed it Champlain Valley Telecom. Being a locally owned, Vermont Company allows us to truly understand the needs of our customers and ensures that we will continue to meet your telecommunications needs in the future. Our primary focus is you, our customer, and we are dedicated to providing you with state-of-the-art technology and superior service.

The History of Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom

Over one hundred years ago on March 10, 1876, the first telephone call from Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson, in another room took place when Bell knocked over a jug of acid-water on his clothes and shouted “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.”

History Sections from Past Telephone Directories

Back in the 1970’s, before the days of digital switching, high-speed Internet service, and online telephone directories, Company owner Eleanor Haskin had a vision to make our telephone books unique. She began including a variety of community information, as well as a history section in each telephone book. In the Mad River Valley Telephone Directory, we continue this tradition to this day. Below you will find scans of some of the history sections we have published. The quality of some of these scans are not the best, but they contain some wonderful stories that we are sure you will enjoy reading.

Sheep, Shops, Cows and Trees – And, Lest We Forget, Lawyers
Author: Jan Pogue
Published: 2009-2010

The Gods of the Hills – and the Occasional Valley – How We Got Religion
Author: Jan Pogue
Published: 2008-2009

Educating the Scholars of the Mad River Valley
Author: Jan Pogue
Published: 2007-2008

Medical History of the Mad River Valley
Author: Eleanor Haskin
Published: 2006-2007

A Story About Roads
Author: Rick Haynes
Published: 2005-2006

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom History
Authors: Jan Pogue and Kevin Eurich
Published: 2004-2005

One Valley, Three Wars
Author: Rick Haynes
Published: 2003-2004

A Few Valley Stories Worth Telling
Author: Rick Haynes
Published: 2002-2003

A Fayston Sampler
Author: Rick Haynes
Published: 2001-2002

A Century of Change
Author: Mary Gow
Published: 2000-2001

A Moretown Sampler
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: 1999 – 2000

Charlotte’s Agricultural Inheritance Preserved
Authors: Mary Lighthall and Katherine Teetor
Published: Champlain Valley 1999 – 2000

The Life of Benjamin Wait
Author: David W. Smith
Published: 1998-1999

A Bristol Tapestry
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: Champlain Valley 1998-1999

The Mad River Valley
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: 1997-1998

A Richmond Tapestry
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: Champlain Valley 1997-1998

A Valley Sampler
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: 1996-1997

A Ferrisburgh Tapestry
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: Champlain Valley 1996-1997

The Fabric of Our Valley
Author: Katherine Werner
Published: 1995-1996

A Panton Tapestry
Author: Earline Marsh
Published: Champlain Valley 1995-1996

History of the Waitsfield-Fayston Telephone Company
Author: Katherine Werner
Published: 1994-1995

Valley Neighbors
Authors: Claudia Woods and Steve Barrett
Published: 1993-1994

Valley Neighbors
Authors: Claudia Woods
Published: 1992-1993

Happy 200th Birthday Vermont
Published: 1991-1992