Time capsule in Pine Hill, Alabama leaves many unanswered questions

Time capsule in Pine Hill, Alabama. 

What’s inside the Pine Hill time capsule?

This is the question that I asked myself over and over again on my way home after a recent trip to Pine Hill, one of the prettiest small towns in all of Southwest Alabama. I’d gone there to photograph the old Bank of Pine Hill building, which also houses the historic K.A. Mayer Masonic Lodge.

I arrived in town around two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and parked in the lot outside Pine Hill Town Hall. I got out of the truck with my camera and found the place deserted, much as you would expect on a sleepy Spring afternoon. After a brief look through the windows of the locked doors to town hall, I set off on foot for Broad Street, the main drag through town.

Not far from where I’d parked, at the corner of Dunn Avenue and Oak Grove Street, there sits a tall, metal flagpole that’s topped by Alabama and United States flags. I happened to look over and something at the base of the flagpole caught my eye. I walked over for a closer look and was surprised by what I found.

There at the base of the flagpole sits a weathered, rectangular concrete slab. Just eyeballing it, the slab looked to be about two-by-three feet square. At first glance, I thought it was a cover for a water or sewer fixture, maybe a drain cover of some sort.

To my surprise, when I got closer, I realized it was something altogether different. There, on top of the slab, were words that read: BICENTENNIAL TIME CAPSULE, ENCASED JULY 4, 1976.

As many readers will know, July 4, 1976 was the 200^th birthday of the United States, and I presume that this time capsule was put in place as part of a local celebration of that historic anniversary. However, nearly 42 years have passed since that time, and as the years have rolled by, memories fade, but this slab remains to remind us that the residents of Pine Hill apparently did something very special to mark the occasion.

As I traveled home, I began to think about this time capsule and many questions came to mind. Who put in place? Was it a civic club or town officials? What items were placed inside? Does a complete list of those items exist somewhere, perhaps in town records or in a yellowed newspaper clipping?

When is the capsule supposed to be reopened, in 50 or 100 years, perhaps on our nation’s 300^th birthday, which is still 58 years away? What is the design of the buried capsule itself? Is it a metal box or made from PVC? Who designed and built it? Maybe these any many other questions about the time capsule will remain unanswered until the day that it’s unearthed for all to see.

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more details about the Pine Hill time capsule, especially from anyone involved in its establishment or from anyone who was present when it was put in place. I think a lot of people would enjoy being reminded of what was buried outside Pine Hill Town Hall on the day that our nation turned 200 years old.