Get to know South Dakota Telephone Pioneer JLW Zietlow | Images of the Past

JLW Zietlow was a leader in the early days of telephone communication. He came to Dakota Territory in the 1880s, established a phone company in Aberdeen, and by the 1900s, led one of the nation's largest regional telephone companies. Zietlow's innovations in hardware and system engineering made him a worthy rival and competitive threat to the massive Bell system of the day.