Ukiah became California’s 118th telephone exchange on June 28, 1897, when the Sunset Telephone Company began service. Minnie Smith Scott was the first manager and operator, and female operators were fondly called “Hello Girls.” By 1899 the town had 75 telephones. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph bought the Sunset Telephone Company in 1906, and by 1915 more than 450 phone numbers were listed in the Ukiah directory. In 1917 PT&T built a new fire-proof building called the Ukiah Central Office Building Exchange. Using Bell Systems technology, PT&T changed from magnetos to batteries, providing 255 lines and 615 stations. The first call on the new system was placed by pharmacist J.I. LeRoy on his personally chosen business “jinx” number 13. By 1929 the building had been remodeled and expanded to meet demand. In 1948 PT&T changed from five-digit numbers to a seven-digit exchange name, and Ukiah’s prefix became HOmestead2. The company then moved into a larger facility, and the former building later housed other businesses and government offices. The structure was extensively remodeled in 1990 and again in 2013.