Malheur Bell
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Malheur Telephone Company |
| Founded | 1895 in Vale, Oregon, United States |
| Defunct | 2009-12-14 |
| Fate | Merged into Qwest Corporation |
| Headquarters | Ontario, Oregon , United States |
Area served | Rural Oregon |
| Parent | Qwest Corporation (formerly Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company, US West) |
Malheur Home Telephone Company, commonly referred to as Malheur Bell, served as a rural telephone service provider in Oregon. It functioned as a fully owned subsidiary of Qwest Corporation, which was a Bell Operating Company under the umbrella of Qwest Communications International.
History
The initial local entity, Malheur Telephone Company, was established in 1895 in Vale, Oregon, operating within the territory of Sunset Telephone and Telegraph. In 1898, Rocky Mountain Bell constructed a toll line linking Boise, Idaho and Weiser, Idaho, subsequently opening local exchanges in Ontario, Oregon (1900) and Nyssa, Oregon (1903).
Competition arose in 1907 when the Independent Long Distance Telephone Company of Idaho launched a rival toll line. This development led to the creation of two local telephone firms: Ontario Independent Telephone Company in 1909 and Nyssa Owyhee Independent Telephone Company in 1910, both challenging Rocky Mountain Bell’s local services.
Formed in 1910, Malheur Home Telephone Company began consolidating telephone operations across the area by acquiring Malheur Telephone in Vale along with Rocky Mountain Bell’s Bell franchise businesses in Nyssa and Ontario. Between 1911 and 1912, it further expanded by purchasing local toll lines and independent companies such as Ontario Independent and Nyssa Owyhee.
In exchange for its assets, Rocky Mountain Bell obtained a significant portion of Malheur stock, securing controlling interest that continued through its merger into Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. Eventually, Mountain States acquired full ownership by purchasing the remaining minority shares. Although owned by Mountain States, Malheur continued to operate autonomously within a region predominantly served by Pacific Telephone & Telegraph.
By 1984, all Malheur shares were held by Mountain Bell; however, Malheur retained operational independence from Mountain Bell and was situated within the territory served by Pacific Northwest Bell. When US West took ownership in 1984, Pacific Northwest Bell became a sister company to Mountain Bell. In 1991, US West consolidated its operating companies into Mountain Bell (which was renamed US West Communications), but Malheur Bell preserved its separate operations and continued to use the Bell trademark.
After US West was acquired by Qwest in 2000 and subsequently renamed Qwest Corporation, Malheur Bell operated independently until it was fully merged into Qwest on December 14, 2009.
External links
- Malheur Bell — archived shortly after closure
- History of Malheur Bell
- Articles with short description
- 1895 establishments in Oregon
- American companies established in 1895
- Telecommunications companies established in 1895
- 2009 disestablishments in Oregon
- American companies disestablished in 2009
- Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2009
- Bell System
- Communications in Oregon
- Companies based in Oregon
- Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
- Lumen Technologies
- Ontario, Oregon