A time capsule buried in 1951 was discovered in Johnson County. Here’s what was inside
Relics buried in a Johnson County building more than seven decades ago came to light Thursday when a time capsule was opened.
The process of retrieving the artifacts from the southeast corner of the old Johnson County courthouse were explained in a video shown during a Board of County Commissioner’s meeting.
Anne Jones, curator of collections at the Johnson County Museum, said newspapers from the 1950s indicated a time capsule was put in the courthouse. But the box, installed on May 7, 1951, was forgotten about until demolition crews began bulldozing the building last year.
“That’s when they discovered oh yes, there was a time capsule here,” Jones said in the video.
Staff took the 13 inch by 10.5 inch by 15 inch copper box discovered in the courthouse’s wall cavity to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Paul Benson, a local conservator formerly with the art museum, performed an X-ray of the box.
He discovered that the objects were well-preserved inside the capsule and could be retrieved.
With a pair of scissors and a crowbar, Benson opened the box.
He found programs from an Olathe rodeo, a model airplane meet-up at a local naval-air station and an Old Settlers celebration. The capsule also contained a Gardner newspaper from 1951 and an Olathe phone directory, according to Kelli Taylor, a spokeswoman for the county manager’s office.
Other relics included a trial docket from May 5, 1951, photographs, a newspaper microfilm reel and letters from an array of municipalities and residents.
A local paper conservator will assist staff in opening 36 envelopes found in the capsule. Many of the letters were sealed with wax, according to Jones.
“As museum staff, we’re the stewards of the collection,” she said.
The items need to be legally transferred from the Board of County Commissioners to the Johnson County Museum for them to manage the collection, Jones added.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 1:21 PM.
