The community at Mankato, Minnesota, recently received a big surprise when construction workers discovered a hidden treasure tucked in a 104-year-old high school building while demolishing it.
In 2023, it was decided that the Owatonna High School would have to be demolished, spurring emotional reactions and memories from generations of locals who’ve passed through it over the last century.
In the spring of 2024, as the construction crew began tearing down the front pillars and doors of the school building, Bob Olson, director of facilities, infrastructure, and security for the school, requested that contractors be careful when running the machinery on the school’s cornerstone—the one with AD 1920 inscribed on it—as they wanted to preserve it for a new high school or district office.
Sure enough, once the old cornerstone was removed, a rusted metal box was uncovered. The box was dented and rusted but well-preserved.
The contents of the box were investigated publicly during a community event at Crandall Center in West Hills on April 22.
The room was filled to the brim as Mr. Olson cut open the metal box. Several pieces of local history were enclosed in the capsule including three local newspapers, financial statements, a roster of the teachers and administrators at Owatonna Public Schools in 1920, and a high school magnet.
Such items are typical of those hidden in time capsules, according to Superintendent Jeff Elstad.
The documents were legible and in fairly good condition although they were a bit damp. One document, written in Czech, is believed to have been contributed by one of the Bohemian cultural organizations existing in Owatonna at the time.
After the unveiling, organizers welcomed the audience to view the items for themselves.
Elizabeth Anselmo, a historian and board member of Steele County High Schools, became emotional as the capsule was unveiled. She has deep roots in the Owatonna community; five generations of her family attended the high school. Her great-great-aunt was a member of the class of 1926, and her daughter was in the final class of 2023.
“I got really emotional,” she said. “I actually did cry a bit.”
For Owatonna graduate and school board chair Mark Sebring, watching the existing high school being torn down was both “exciting” and “sad”
“It was such an important edifice for those of us that had walked the halls and graduated from Owatonna High School,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cory Kath, principal at Owatonna Public Schools, was thrilled to see the capsule.
The Owatonna High School Museum Committee is collaborating with the Steele County Historical Society to preserve the artifacts. They hope that these treasures of history will be admired long into the future.
