TIME ZONES By Jim Zura
Being pioneers with no reliable maps to follow, Lewis and Clark had no idea when to set their watches back when they crossed a time-zone line. So, how did these now-familiar longitudinal borders come about? Well, through most of human history, through the end of the 19th century, there was really no need for standardized time zones. After all, without real-time communications, you wouldn't know that your uncle in San Francisco was running on a different time until you travelled there and compared watches!
In fact, the Chicago Tribune once listed 27 local time zones in Illinois and 38 in Wisconsin. Towns throughout the country typically chose their local time based on high-noon when the sun was directly over their city hall.
It took America's railroads to solve this modern problem. Imagine trying to keep your trains on time with such a disparity of local times throughout the nation!
It wasn't until 1883 that the trade association that eventually became the Association of American Railroads met and agreed upon four U.S. time zones, and adopted "Standard Time." One year later, Greenwich Mean Time was universally adopted, as the rest of the world quickly followed suit, resulting in the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line.
So, by the time long-distance telephone lines became useful, time standardization was already in place. If you're interested in further time tidbits, here's an interesting external link:
http://www.time.gov/exhibits.html
Article Copyright 1990 by James A. Zura. All Rights Reserved.