PEORIA Ill. (WMBD) — While demolishing the Hale Memorial Church this summer, workers found a time capsule in one of the cornerstones of the church.
After finding a date on the box, they finally opened it exactly 122 years after it was sealed.
The KDB group of Peoria acquired the Hale Church and attempted to rebuild it before it was demolished. The group made sure to be extremely careful opening the box with a diamond blade saw as well as precautions if the capsule had any mold within.
Once opened, at the very top were papers dating back to 1900. Nothing was taken out of the capsule in order to preserve the contents.
An X-ray was taken of the capsule and it is believed to hold a bible as well as other papers and documents that could be from the original chapel that was erected in 1868.
Greg Birkland is the CEO of the KDB Group and he is extremely excited to see what else the capsule will tell us about Peoria’s past.
“It could date back to 1868 which is 154 years ago so we’re really excited to see what we could find out,” said Birkland.
This story will be updated once the contents of the capsule are revealed.
