Samuel F. B. Morse and the Telegraph

Map Showing the Telegraph Lines in Operation, Under Contract, and Contemplated to Complete the Circuit of the Globe, 1855
Engraved map with annotations
Geography & Map Division (125.13)

Merely eleven years after Samuel F. B. Morse sent his historic telegraph message from the chamber of the Supreme Court, then in the United States Capitol, a complex line of telegraph lines began to connect the globe. This map reveals the status of the telegraph network as it existed in the U.S. in 1855. By this time, telegraph communication was possible across all of the United States. The legend above denotes those lines in operation (marked in green), those under contract for construction (in red); and the dotted lines represent telegraph lines projected for construction.