{"id":104349,"date":"2022-03-24T08:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T12:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=104349"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:15:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:15:45","slug":"object-10-togus-time-capsule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-10-togus-time-capsule\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 10: Togus Time Capsule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story is part of our series celebrating America\u2019s 250th anniversary. Find more captivating stories from the VA History Office at Freedom 250<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Time<\/a>
Time capsule, with newspapers dated September 15, 1889, and other objects found in a national cemetery monument. (NCA)\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A time capsule filled with objects and historical materials provides a snapshot of a particular time and place. Buried within a building or memorial as it is constructed, the contents of the container offer a tangible connection between past and present. The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) has documentation on the time capsules that were occasionally imbedded in\u00a0national cemetery monuments<\/strong><\/a>. In 2010, however, masons working on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at\u00a0Togus National Cemetery<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Maine unexpectedly discovered one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All cemeteries, which were\u00a0designated\u00a0as\u00a0national\u00a0<\/em>cemeteries in 1973,<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0affiliated with the\u00a011\u00a0oldest branches of the\u00a0National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0feature a prominent monument, typically in the shape of an obelisk, erected several years after the Civil War. The cemetery at the Eastern Branch\u00a0in\u00a0Togus\u00a0lacked such a memorial, to the distress of Luther Stephenson, governor of the branch. About 2,000 Veterans\u00a0resided\u00a0at the home. A group of them took matters into their own hands and erected a 26-foot-tall,\u00a0granite-block obelisk in 1889. They built it using stone quarried on the grounds. The 1890 National Home annual report commended the outcome:\u00a0\u201cThe monument is very handsome in its rough\u00a0simplicity, and\u00a0is a source of pride to the men.\u201d What went unreported was that the builders placed a time capsule inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The copper box, measuring 10\u201d\u00a0x\u00a07\u201d\u00a0x 3\u201d, was found to\u00a0contain\u00a0regional newspapers, National Home annual reports, and photographs. Despite the soldered lead seams, water had infiltrated the box and much of the contents were unsalvageable. To the delight of NCA historians who examined the container, however, seven members of the National Home\u2019s engineering office had proudly autographed the box\u2019s paper lining with their names and information about their military service. Most had served in Civil War regiments from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Capstone<\/a>
Capstone in front of the 131-year-old Togus, Maine, monument in preparation for rededication, 2010. (NCA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Also found within the monument were a green glass bottle with a rolled letter inside and the bowl of a smoking pipe.\u00a0NCA\u00a0rededicated the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on September 15, 2010. Then-Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Steve Muro used the ceremony to place a new time capsule under the capstone for future generations to uncover. This watertight container is an ammo box that NCA historians painted \u201cVA blue\u201d and filled with newspapers, challenge coins, brochures about VA and NCA, and letters from VA leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Togus time capsule filled with objects and historical materials provides a snapshot of a particular time and place. This capsule was found on the Togus National Cemetery in Maine while masons were working on a monument.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":117247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[144,27,20,23],"class_list":["post-104349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-america-250","tag-civil-war","tag-national-cemetery-administration","tag-national-home-for-disabled-volunteer-soldiers"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-10-togus-time-capsule\/","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 10: Togus Time Capsule","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-10-togus-time-capsule\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-10-togus-time-capsule\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/03\/TOGU_time-capsule-plus-scaled.webp?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/03\/TOGU_time-capsule-plus-scaled.webp"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["america 250","civil war","national cemetery administration","national home for disabled volunteer soldiers"],"dateCreated":"2022-03-24T12:52:00Z","datePublished":"2022-03-24T12:52:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-24T20:15:45Z"},"rendered":"