Workers uncover 102-year-old time capsule while taking down Confederate monument

ST. LOUIS — Workers in St. Louis were removing a controversial Confederate monument when they discovered a 102-year-old time capsule buried inside its base.

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According to CNN, Mark Trout, executive director of the Missouri Civil War Museum, knew of the copper time capsule's existence from historical documents and determined that it was placed in the bottom center of the monument around one month before it was complete. The removal began Monday in the Confederate Memorial in Forest Park after the city and the Missouri Civil War Museum came to an agreement.

"We knew it was in there somewhere, so we were careful as we chipped away at something like 40 tons of concrete until we got to the very bottom," Trout told CNN.

On Friday, workers found a small stone tablet with a message, dated 1914, inscribed on it, which read, “On this spot, a monument will be erected in memory of the soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy.”

"We know a couple things inside of it, [but] we don't know everything," Trout told CNN of the time capsule, which has not yet been opened, and added that he believes it will contain documents, a magazine with an article about the monument and a letter to whomever found it.

Due to the location of the capsule within the monument, it’s possible that it was placed there knowing that it would only be found if the monument were ever taken apart or destroyed. The time capsule is expected to be opened at a fundraiser for the museum sometime in the near future.

Cox Media Group