Grapevine radio refers to the transmission infrastructures, used for distributing audio programs, which were built to serve a small number of rural upstate South Carolina communities from the early 1930s to the middle 1940s. Despite their name, these systems did not employ radio transmitters, but were actually a type of "telephone newspaper", because the programs were sent telephonically over wires strung to subscribing homes. The equipment used to distribute programming over a facility's wire network was located at a central site, for example a general store's back room. Programs normally consisted of retransmissions of radio stations, however, some programming was locally produced, originating from a studio at the distribution site or relayed from a local church or other gathering place. The locally produced programs included announcements and emergency messages, commercials and live performances. The transmissions were made daily, generally starting around 6 a.m. and running until 10:00 p.m. or midnight. The grapevine systems soon became unneeded, because they primarily served homes that did not have electricity. Once a community received electric service the local grapevine system would soon close down, as the subscribers switched to radio receivers that could receive a wide selection of programs at no cost, instead of the single program and monthly fees characteristic of the grapevine systems.
Historical background Information about the grapevine installations (also called "speakerline") is limited, because of their brief history and the fact that they do not appear to have been established outside a small region of South Carolina. Unlike radio stations, they did not require government approval to operate. Their existence was also dependent on an unusual and short-lived economic and technical environment, as they required a central distribution site that had access to electricity, plus a surrounding community of prospective subscribers that did not have electric service. Throughout the 1930s large parts of the United States, including most farms, did not have electricity. Although organized radio broadcasting had begun in the early 1920s, in rural upstate South Carolina there were no nearby radio stations strong enough to be picked up by battery-less crystal radio receivers, and although battery-powered sets existed, without electrical service there was no convenient way to recharge the batteries. The economic struggles caused by the Great Depression meant that many people could not even afford a newspaper subscription. Thus, there was a lack of entertainment and a strong sense of isolation in the region. As one person remembered, connecting to the grapevine service meant that "we had 'arrived' and were at last in touch with the outside world". The rural electrification projects of the 1930s and 1940s eventually eliminated potential customers, making the grapevine systems no longer needed as their former customers switched to listening to radio stations.
Initial installation at Mauldin
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