Community Corner
Local History: Why Phone Numbers Start with 379
The store's telephone exchange is reason for the "379" area phone numbers
This circa 1950s advertising-postcard view of B. Altman & Co. at the early Mall at Short Hills is from the collection of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society.
Many of Millburn's residences had a similar phone exchange to B. Altman, the "Drexel 9," in the 1950s, which is the reason for many of the "379" area telephone numbers. An exchange name is used to represent the first two letters of a seven-digit telephone number. Exchange names have nothing to do with area codes or country codes.
The first two letters of the exchange name are the first two digits of the phone number, when they are spelled out on a telephone dial or keypad. Telephone exchange names were used until the 60s and even into the 70s in some places.
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Members of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society write a weekly column highlighting items in the collection, which can be seen at the museum located at the Short Hills Train Station on the Hobart Avenue side.
