Time capsule from 1920 found during old high school demolition and it's a throwback to a simpler time

Old buildings often hide away memories and pieces from the past in nooks and corners. It's not completely surprising to find things left behind by the previous tenants of a house or in abandoned locations. So when a demolition team began tearing down a school in Minnesota, they stumbled upon some interesting materials that were over a century old. According to CBS News, the Owatonna High School got under the radar of extensive media coverage after a time capsule from 1920 was unearthed from the building.

The construction crew was doing their job when they removed a cornerstone that was inscribed with "A.D. 1920" that remained frozen in time behind the bricks and mortars of the school building. “It is a historic event for our community," Owatonna School's Superintendent Jeff Elstad said during a press conference in 2024. The time capsule holds a fascinating collection of artifacts, as reported by Owatonna People's Press. The contents that were discovered in the time capsule were revealed by Bob Olson, the director of facilities, infrastructure, and security for the district, to the public.

In a Facebook post update, Owatonna Public Schools wrote that "an OHS Magnet newspaper, district finance committee report, roster of the 1920-21 Board of Education and teachers of the public schools" were all found inside the time capsule. The school district also revealed that the case contained copies of three local newspapers— The Daily People's Press, The Blooming Prairie Times, and Owatonna Journal-Chronicle. There was a Josten's emblem catalog and a paper containing the "history of the City of Owatonna" alongside the paper clippings. "The OHS Museum Committee is working with the Steele County Historical Society to preserve the items and display them in the school district and at the History Center," the district said, per their Facebook post.

Superintendent Elstad additionally told CBS News that they are planning to identify "what artifacts have a direct tie to the school district." They hope to put the items discovered by the demolition team at the new high school. “It’s part of history, as you well know, and we all know history is important,” Mary Larson, a graduate from Owatonna High School in 1950, told WYMT, adding that the artifacts can be used to teach younger generations about the history of their town.

“This is wonderful because each of these time capsules, when they’re revealed, reveal a bit more about our local history. And so, it is great to be able to see this come to light,” Jennifer Thiele, the executive director of the Steele County Historical Society which is partnering with the school's museum to preserve and display the time capsule's contents, shared. "They were happy to see the documents and things inside that continue to tell the story of what our community was like during that early time," Elstad further explained to ABC News. "It's interesting that some of the names that you see are still common names in our community, which I think says a lot about just the history and the tradition that we have here."