Jacksonville to Bury Bicentennial Time Capsule on Downtown Square in May

When Jacksonville's 1975 time capsule was pried open last fall for the city's bicentennial celebration, it gave back eight-track tapes, tennis shoes, sports uniforms, restaurant menus from Beef and the Bird, and nearly 200 letters written by residents who wanted to speak across fifty years. The Bicentennial Committee is now offering a chance to do the same thing again, this time for a full century.

The committee will host a community time capsule ceremony on Tuesday, May 26, on the downtown square. Contents will be on public display from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by a short ceremony at 5:30 and then burial. Residents who want a voice inside the capsule have until May 8 to get their submissions in.

The approved path to participation starts with a $20 archival envelope, available at the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce. Those envelopes can hold letters, personal stories, reflections on daily life in Jacksonville, or milestone updates from local organizations, schools, and businesses. Mayor Andy Ezard put the opportunity plainly: "This is our chance to speak directly to the future, sharing who we are, what we value, and what this moment in Jacksonville's history means to us."

The pre-burial public display, running for one hour before the ceremony begins, is a significant decision by the committee. It means Jacksonville residents will be able to see the full contents of the capsule before it is sealed, a level of transparency the 1975 burial did not offer. That earlier capsule's contents spent months at the Jacksonville Area Museum before the formal opening, delayed by mold remediation and freeze-drying of affected items.

The 1975 letters, many addressed to family members, businesses, and community organizations, turned out to be the capsule's most resonant contents. Residents had written about prices, churches, and daily life in ways that spoke directly to descendants who showed up last October to claim envelopes written for them. The new capsule is designed to build the same kind of layered, personal record, anchored in 2026, for whoever opens it in 2126.

What should Jacksonville in 2126 know about life here today? The Bicentennial Committee is asking that question now. The deadline to answer is May 8, one $20 envelope at a time.