About Us
The American Museum of Telephony (AMoT), known familiarly as the JKL Museum, is dedicated to the preservation of all aspects of telephony.
The JKL name is the creation of the owner, John K La Rue, whose initials just happen to appear above the number 5 on most telephone dials. Our trademark can be seen on our home page banner.
The museum’s collection includes telephones and related equipment from all over the world, from as early as the 1880’s to present day. Among the many goals of the museum is to have working telephones and demonstrations from all eras, and to interconnect working telephones by way of the museum’s extensive “central office” switching system.
The museum also houses an extensive library of telephony publications, including 100 year old texts, catalogs, brochures, and telephone company publications. The library is unequaled by any U.S. museum dedicated to telephony and most likely in the world. The museum has grown by acquiring private collections, donations of library materials, and purchases from private and public sources. The museum’s non-profit status has encouraged very generous donations to the museum which has added immensely to the size and scope of the collection.
We hope you enjoy a quick visit to our museum website by viewing the many photographs we have assembled in a variety of categories. You may see items that we own in duplicate and we’re always willing to discuss trades for items we don’t own. If you have questions or would like to talk with any of us, please send us an email. If interested, we would be happy to arrange a visit for you or your group.
We are located near the town of San Andreas that is on Highway 49 in California.
We hope you will browse at your convenience and come back often.
Welcome to our site.
