Sand, deteriorated paper found inside 137-year-old time capsule in Truro

CTV Atlantic: 137-year-old time capsule opened Excitement quickly turned to disappointment at the opening of a 137-year-old time capsule in Truro, N.S. Thursday morning.

Excitement quickly turned to disappointment at the opening of a 137-year-old time capsule in Truro, N.S. Thursday morning.

A construction crew recently discovered the tin box in the northeast corner of the old Teacher’s College, or Normal College.

“I was kind of excited and happy that we found it, and to me, it’s quite a big deal to find something that was done in 1877,” says construction project manager Leo Rovers.

Inside the box was a bottle, and inside the bottle, according to records from the time, was a long list of newspapers and coins, as well as church and school records.

However, when crews opened the bottle Thursday morning, they found only sand and deteriorated paper.

Over time, the cork lid had fallen into the bottle and sand used to pack the box had gotten inside too.

When museum archivist Nan Harvey saw the condition of the capsule, she suspected the contents hadn’t survived.

“It was disappointing, but I sort of expected it, so I wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t devastating,” says Harvey.

“A bit disappointing, but I guess if we really thought about it, maybe not surprising,” says history buff Helen Nichols.

A few artifacts, including five coins of the new Dominion, did survive the capsule’s 137-year stay in the ground.

“We did come up three pennies, a 25-cent piece and a 50-cent piece,” says Truro Mayor Bill Mills. “It wasn’t all in vain.”

The new town library is expected to open at the location of the former school by fall 2015. Mills says he would like to see another time capsule buried at the site, but one that will better stand the test of time.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh