Saturday night, historians in Buckingham County showed us something no one had seen for a century. They unearthed a time capsule buried across from the courthouse lawn for a hundred years. The capsule's contents gave us a glimpse into Confederate life in Central Virginia.
Buckingham's residents buried the time capsule in 1908 underneath a corner of the county's Civil War Memorial as part of a project to preserve Confederate history. Saturday, they broke through the dirt and concrete to take a peek into the past. "It was encased in brick and concrete and behind that was a marble block," said Longwood University's Brian Bates.
The artifacts inside included documents. "Bonded to the front of it over the years in the time capsule is a $100 Confederate bill," shared Bates.
Also, there was a piece of frayed rope. According to Bates, "It was originally used by General Fitz Lee at the unveiling of a Lee monument some years earlier."
Historians were worried about the condition of the capsule after it spent a century under ground. "Honestly, I had relatively low expectations for what we might get out of it," admitted Bates.
But they say about half the materials are in remarkably good condition. "Right now we're working on conservation of the artifacts to see if we can stabilize any of the degradation of them," shared Bates.
Some of the first people to get to see inside the capsule were descendants of people who put artifacts in it. "They were really pleased to see that the county had taken an interest in actually doing this," said Bates. "You know, it is exciting because it is a connection to our local past."
After they opened the capsule, Buckingham residents buried another one that's to be opened in 100 years.
Reported by Adam Rhew
