Sixty and seventy years ago, AT&T built thousands of microwave relay towers as part of its transcontinental Long Line communications network. It’s been a long time since they were used in that capacity, but many of the towers still stand. One of them is southwest of Albion, Indiana.
The 320-foot tower1 near Albion was built in 19702. It relayed signals 20 miles southeast to Leo, 30 miles southwest to Etna Green, and 24 miles northeast to Pleasant Lake3.
After the Long Lines program ended, an AT&T successor sold most of the towers around the year 2000. Albion’s still features its fan-shaped KS-15676 horn antennae and round SHX10As. These days, AT&T still uses it as a cell tower4.
Sources Cited
1 Transmitter Characteristics (n.d.). Antennasearch. Web. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
2 Parcel 57-15-26-300-002.000-02 (2023). Office of the Assessor. Noble County [Albion]. Web. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
3 Long Lines Map and Information (n.d.). Web. Map. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
4 (See footnote 1).
