It's been half a century since touch-tone telephone service was inaugurated in the Rochester area. In September 1966, Michigan Bell officials announced that a new facility on Tienken Road would take over the telephone circuits for Rochester and the old building at the corner of Third & Walnut streets would be vacated. All 5,800 telephone customers in greater Rochester would be assigned the '651' prefix, and touch-tone calling would be available for the first time in the area.
The company announced that it would no longer offer 4-party lines, but 2-party service would still be available on a limited basis.