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Time capsule from 1912 found under Mercer courthouse

August 20, 2009|By SUSIE LAUN

HARRODSBURG — Wednesday, more than a piece of history was removed from Main Street as the old courthouse began to be torn down — a time capsule almost a century old also surfaced.

On Aug. 17, 1912, Mercer County residents celebrated the cornerstone laying of the courthouse. Local citizens and organizations placed important documents in a time capsule inside the cornerstone.

As the courthouse started to come down Wednesday and the cornerstone was taken from the rubble, the 97-year-old capsule was opened.

For Mercer County resident Amalie Preston, a member of the Harrodsburg Historical Society, the experience was bittersweet.

"Nothing else has ever been on this sight," she said.

The first courthouse was built in 1789, rebuilt in 1818 and again in 1912. It was remodeled in 1928 after a fire gutted most of the building.

The time capsule contained old newspaper clippings from 1912, information about the courthouse and coins from that time period. A full inventory of items is at the historical society, Preston said.

"I just think it's odd what they chose to put in there," she said.

The items included a newspaper clipping about the first gun ever brought into the courthouse and instruction books, such as guidelines, for organizations.

The cornerstone and the time capsule will be housed at the historical society for now, but Preston said she hopes the cornerstone can be on display somewhere in the new judicial center, which is scheduled to be complete in two years.

Mercer County Judge-Executive Milward Dedman said he would like to see the cornerstone cleaned up and put on display.

Construction of the judicial center will begin when the demolition is complete and the debris is removed. It will take about two or three days to completely tear down the courthouse, Dedman said.

The new center was projected to cost $11.9 million, according to the Kentucky courts Web site. Dedman said Wednesday it is now projected to cost up to $9 million.

Codell Construction Co., based in Winchester, is the construction manager for the project.

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