In the 1950s and ’60s, AT&T built thousands of microwave relay towers for its Long Lines network. Although they’ve been out of use for nearly forty years, many still dot the landscape. One stands just southwest of Wauseon in Fulton County, Ohio. Seven years ago, I stumbled across it by accident!
I’m fascinated by AT&T’s old Long Line towers, and I’ve been tracking down Indiana’s for the past couple of years. Before I even knew what a Long Line tower was, I found myself in northwestern Ohio taking photos of courthouses. I spotted the tower in the distance and curiosity got the best of me. I crept closer and snapped a couple quick photos before I was sure of what I was looking at!
My photos were pretty terrible, but I’m glad I thought to take them. Eventually, I learned more about the structure I’d seen. As it turns out, the 180-foot-tall1 Long Line tower in Wauseon was built in 1950 as part of AT&T’s inaugural route from New York to Chicago2. Originally, it relayed signals from a tower in Swanton, seventeen miles east, to Bryan, twenty-five miles west.
After the Long Lines program ended, a successor to AT&T sold most of the towers around the year 2000. Today, Wauseon’s is owned by Tower Sites, Incorporated, of Wisconsin4. It appears to be operated by Metalink Technologies, an internet service provider headquartered in nearby Defiance5. Next time I’m the area, I’ll be sure to take some better pictures.
Sources Cited
1 Transmitter Characteristics (n.d.). Antennasearch. Web. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
2 Parcel 06-100524-00.000 (2025). Office of the Assessor. Fulton County [Wauseon]. Web. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
3 Long Lines Map and Information (n.d.). Web. Map. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
4 (See footnote 2).
5 (See footnote 1).
