The copy on the marker at the site of Memphis' first telephone is so short that it reads more like a telegraph than a phone conversation. The lucky owner of Memphis' first phone was Col. Mike Burke, the superintendent of the Mississippi and Tennessee railroad. The phone was installed at his house at the corner of Front and G.E. Patterson downtown (which, given the location of the train station and train tracks, seems to have been quite convenient to his work). Like many early adopters, he was left with limited options in terms of other users. The phone could only call two places - the railroad office and the home of Col. H.A. Montgomery.