They had them in rural areas when I was a kid. When my grandfather was alive, he had the only private line in the rural community where he was the local physician. The community wanted their calls to the doctor to be private. After he died, the line to his house was converted to a party line just like everybody else in that area.

Each home on a single line had a distinctive ring pattern. Maybe one short and then 2 long rings. You would only answer if it was "your" ring pattern. Of course, you could eavesdrop on any calls on that line.




Last Edited By: BlackCatTux 05/17/08 02:27 PM. Edited 1 times.