The act of burying and uncovering time capsules is a fascinating thing that has been going on in America since at least the days of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere — the pair placed a time capsule in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House in 1795.

A time capsule was unearthed and its contents were shared on Saturday, May 24, to commemorate Prospect’s bicentennial.

In the Victorian Era, people began placing mementos in the cornerstones of new buildings and that concept eventually paved the way for the modern version of time capsules. The American bicentennial in 1976 saw an uptick in communities burying time capsules in anticipation of opening them next year as the country celebrates its 250th birthday.

There is something so hopeful about burying precious memories for the people who come after us to find. Those who curate time capsules often ask those who donate items to consider contributing things that will tell future generations what life is like in our community at this specific point in history.

In Prospect, the time capsule included photos of buildings and people, newspaper clippings from 1975, a binder with the names and addresses of all Prospect residents in 1975 and a letter from the John P. Hines family about their time living in the borough.

In a time when it’s less likely that we’ll forget the history of our towns thanks to online records and archives, time capsules offer us a chance to preserve history in a different, more tangible way.

The community library will soon collect materials for a new time capsule that will be buried this fall to be opened in 2075.

What physical items would you preserve to tell your story about life in 2025?

Would it be a piece of technology, a map of your hometown, a photo of your family or maybe a copy of the newspaper? What could small items like a coach’s favorite whistle, a key to city hall, a video of a municipal meeting or ballots from this year’s local elections tell future residents about our lives in Butler County today?

Thinking of what we’d like to tell people in the future about our lives today is a good way to remember what we’re thankful for in our communities.

— KL