Anxiously waiting to open 1795 time capsule
Massachusetts officials can thank a water leak for uncovering a more than 200-year-old time capsule.
In a damp ceremony of discovery Thursday, snow-covered workers in Boston removed the time capsule. Its contents may be as old as the nation, and some of them are even older.
The capsule was placed in a cornerstone of the newer Massachusetts State House in 1795 when the state government moved to its new building. Patriots Samuel Adams and Paul Revere took part in the ceremony.
What Might Be In There
The capsule is thought to include coins dating from 1652 to 1855, when the original cowhide container was replaced by a metal box. An engraved silver plate, newspapers, cards and the title page of the Massachusetts Colony Records also may be inside. Massachusetts was one of the original 13 colonies.
The copper or tin box measures 5-by-7 inches. It was cemented into the cornerstone. Officials recently decided to remove it while trying to keep water from seeping into the aging statehouse. A reporter on Thursday reported that several dimes from 1854 fell out of the cornerstone as workers dug their way inside.
“It’s exciting,” Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said in an interview. “The history of Massachusetts is the history of America, in many respects.”
After a day, workers removed the box from the cornerstone. A conservator who preserves precious objects for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts also helped. Officials hope to X-ray the box to see what is in it over the weekend and probably open it in the coming week.
Not One, But Two Time Capsules
Oddly enough, this is the second time capsule recovered from a Massachusetts statehouse building this year.
Less than half a mile away stands the Old State House. Built in 1713, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. A time capsule was found there three months ago. Like the Massachusetts State House, the Old State House’s walls have witnessed important moments of early American history.
In 1770, just outside the Old State House, British troops killed five colonists. The famous event later became known as the Boston Massacre.
Not long after, on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in Massachusetts on the Old State House’s balcony.
The lion and unicorn statues on the building were a symbol of British rule. They were torn down and destroyed in a fire and replaced, said Heather Leet. She is with the Bostonian Society, which was started to restore the Old State House.
A time capsule hidden in the lion had been forgotten until 2011, when a descendant of the artist who created it told the society of its existence. “Copper Box to be Placed in Head of the King of Beasts,” The Boston Daily Globe announced in a Feb. 24, 1901, article.
On Sept. 14, officials discovered a copper shoebox-sized capsule in the head of the lion.
City Hall Pranksters
The box contained more modern treasures. There was a wooden piece of the original lion statue and photographs of public officials and workers. There was also an envelope titled, “A message to posterity from the daily newspapers at City Hall.” People thought it would contain a letter written to people in the future.
"There was nothing in the envelope," Leet said. She added that she thought the empty envelope was a joke from city hall reporters.
Also found in the box was a book titled “Foreign Relations of the United States, 1896.”
The book is actually part of a U.S. State Department series, still in print. According to the U.S. Government Printing Office, it is “the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.”
This fall, the Bostonian Society took suggestions from the city and beyond. It then created a new time capsule for 2014. Items included a 2013 Boston Marathon medal, an Apple iPhone 5, Red Sox baseball tickets and a piece of a 1713 brick from the building.
Also in the capsule is the latest available version of “Foreign Relations of the United States.” The book was a gift from the Government Printing Office, Leet said.
The capsule was then placed back into the head of the lion statue and returned to the top of the Old State House on Nov. 23. It will wait there for the people of Massachusetts to uncover it sometime in the future.