New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Westville)
1878 - First telephone exchange in world opened in New Haven.

The first commercial telephone exchange system in the world was opened in New Haven, in January, 1878, and has been in continuous operation ever since. This pioneer exchange was organized by Mr. George W. Coy, who now resides in Milford, New Haven County, and who, during the twelve years ending with the year 1877, was managing the local offices of the Atlantic and Pacific and the Franklin Telegraph companies.

In July, 1877, the local papers in New Haven contained an advertisement of 'Bell's telephone' reading in part:

The proprietors keep the instrument in repair, without charge, and the user has no expense except the maintenance of the line. It needs only a wire between the two stations, though ten or twenty miles apart, with a telephone at each end.... The outside of the telephone is of mahogany finely polished and an ornament to any room or office. Telephones leased and lines constructed.

In September, 1877, Mr. Coy secured several Bell telephones and installed a few private lines in New Haven, and also displaced some district call-boxes with telephones in his local messenger service. Perceiving how useful the telephone was proving to business houses desiring his messenger service, Mr. Coy concluded that a central telephone exchange system would be a desirable thing for the community, provided a sufficient number of subscribers could be secured...

Popular Science Monthly Volume 70 January 1907
Notes on the Development of Telephone Service III
By Fred de Land

Timeline of Connecticut History (ctfamilyhistory.com)
Creating Connecticut: Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State

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