Time Capsule Placed by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere Found in Massachusetts

While repairing a leak at the Massachusetts State House, some repairmen stumbled upon an antique time capsule. The time capsule is believed to have been buried there in the 1790s by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Museum of Fine Arts conservator Pamela Hatchfield extricated the capsule Thursday, which took over seven hours and required the help of twelve workers.

“I feel happy and relieved. And excited. And really interested to see what’s in this box,” Hatchfield said.

The capsule is believed to be 219 years old and one of the oldest time capsules in the United States. It was first buried when the building was built in 1795 and was re-buried in 1855 after then-governor Henry Gardner added some items to it.

According to Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, state records show that a collection of coins, an engraved silver Paul Revere plate, newspapers, a Commonwealth seal, and a title page from the Massachusetts Colony Records are inside of it.

After the capsule experts at the Museum of Fine Arts perform an x-ray and examine it, it will likely be opened next week and soon displayed to the public.