Century-old time capsule found at Minnesota high school during demolition

In what Superintendent Jeff Elstad called a “historic event for our community,” a time capsule more than a century old has been discovered in the demolition of a former high school in Owatonna, Minnesota. The contents of the capsule were first revealed during a press conference this week.

Bob Olson, director of facilities, infrastructure and safety for Owatonna Public Schools, said at the event that the capsule was discovered while an old school was being removed. According to the Owatonna People's Press, it was the former Owatonna High School that had been erected in 1921.

Olson said he had instructed construction crew members during the demolition to “kindly and carefully” remove a cornerstone because they wanted to keep it somewhere in the new district office or a new high school. Inside that cornerstone, which was laid on September 30, 1920, was the time capsule.

And inside was a great collection, and a typed list of everything that was inside. Among the items were a copy of one of the first volumes of the high school student newspaper, finance committee reports, a list of city mayors and reporters, numerous articles from the Minnesota Freemasons, and even a booklet written in Czech.

There was even information about the school at the time. Enrollment, unearthed documents show, was just 327 students in 1920.

“Today we have over 1,500 students at Owatonna High School,” Elstad said. “So we've grown up.”

Elstad said they will identify which documents in the capsule have “a direct link to the school district.” The items will go into curation, with the hope that some of them can be displayed in the new school district office and high school. The Steele County Historical Society will also take some of the items for care and display.