A glass bottle full of kerosene and history was buried beneath the bluestone steps of the Susquehanna County Courthouse in Montrose.
Crews replacing the over 100 year-old-steps unknowingly smashed the bottle, revealing four editions of local newspapers, letters and election ballots, all from 1909.
On Wednesday, the Susquehanna County Commissioners replaced the time capsule with a new one that looks like a white cylinder sent from space.
"We're putting all relevant documents from this era into the time capsule so people can see what was going on here 100 years or 200 years from now," said county Commissioner Alan Hall.
Construction crews are currently replacing and replicating the 115-year-old steps outside the county courthouse. Wednesday they built forms. Before they filled them in with bluestone, the commissioners placed the new capsule on a small stone ledge beneath a brick pillar.
The new time capsule location will eventually be marked — so no future surprises.
"People will know that it's there," said Hall.
The new capsule reduces the oxygen inside to help preserve the items — instead of kerosene.
"We discussed the kerosene as an option this time. But, you know, Commissioner Hall said ‘no’,” county Commission Judith Herschel joked.
Inside is a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, a fidget spinner, phone book and picture of the current commissioners. Like the old capsule, each department within the county courthouse also wrote a personalized letter for the capsule.
“That way the future Susquehanna County will know a little bit more about who was working here during that time, what their job entailed," said Herschel.
There's also the most recent historical journal from the county's historical society, which features Susquehanna's historical sites.
"We would hope that 100, 200 years from now, people are still visiting," said Herschel. "But we're not quite sure, so we'll help.”
An article in the July 2, 1909 edition of the Independent Republican was the only record the county could find about the capsule.
The article said the glass jar was "the kind like mother used to keep jam in."
"This airtight jar was encased in concrete at the base of the steps, now being re-laid, in the belief that future races that then people the earth will discover these rolls of papyrus and it will bring up memories of us ancients and greatly edify the scientists of that time."
The county representatives at the time, rolled up four newspapers including the Independent Republican and the Montrose Democrat — precursors to the over 200-year-old Susquehanna County Independent, which is still in publication today.
The front page of the June 1909 edition of the Nicholson Record, also in the capsule, reported a on woman struggling with alcoholism.
"Only sober twice in two days or 10 days," Herschel read as she leaned over the pale broadsheet paper. "That's when you put all the gossip about everybody in the paper."
Hall called the newspapers a great read.
"People talked about horses being born and things like that. You know, we don't have that today, so it's a whole different time period on how things were looked at," he said.
The newspapers are available online at https://www.susqco.com/departments/historical-records.
