AT&T built tons of microwave relay towers throughout the United States during the 1950s and 60s as part of its Long Lines network, a transcontinental telecommunications system. Today, one stands tall amidst the trees near LaGrange, Indiana.
The tower near LaGrange was built in 19501 as part of AT&T’s first transcontinental microwave route from New York to Chicago. The tower is 26 feet square2 and easily eclipses the surrounding trees. Originally, it relayed a signal from a tower 18 miles away in Angola to another tower 20 miles southwest near Goshen3.
After the Long Lines program ended, the LaGrange tower was deaccessioned in 20004. It doesn’t appear to be used for communications purposes today5.
Sources Cited
1 Parcel 44-07-10-100-017.000-001 (2023). Office of the Assessor. LaGrange County [LaGrange]. Web. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
2 (See footnote 1).
3 Long Lines Map and Information (n.d.). Web. Map. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
4 (See footnote 1).
5 Transmitter Characteristics (n.d.). Antennasearch. Web. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
