Greene County Bicentennial Committee

Greene County, Ohio Greene County Bicentennial Committee

A time capsule, which had been buried under the cornerstone of the Greene County Courthouse in 1901, became a matter of intense local interest when it was opened at the courthouse centennial celebrations in 2001. The small copper box was filled with items of historical significance for Greene County: issues of newspapers, histories of churches and organizations, school class lists, and business advertisements, all in mint condition. This exciting discovery provided a fascinating snapshot of life in this rural community at a time of great technological change. Greene County, Ohio: Time Capsule of 1901 contains many of the pictures and documents enclosed in that time capsule, with interesting supplemental photographs provided by local historical institutions of the people and places described in those documents. One local newspaper article, published the day the capsule was buried and found within it, gives a prediction of how the county seat of Xenia would become a great metropolis by the time the capsule was to be opened in 2001-with "great, tall buildings of stone and iron...as far as the eye can reach," and "flying machines...to be seen everywhere."