In 1795, Paul Revere helped bury a secret time capsule beneath Boston's State House; 219 years later, workers opened it to reveal coins, documents and a medal

A small time capsule buried beneath Boston’s Massachusetts State House in 1795 stayed there for generations, carrying pieces of Massachusetts history beneath the building.

Paul Revere, Governor Samuel Adams and Colonel William Scollay were involved in placing the capsule beneath the State House cornerstone. More than two centuries later, it was removed and opened to reveal coins, newspapers, a George Washington medal and a silver plaque believed to have been made by Revere, as per reports.

Paul Revere helped place the time capsule in 1795

The capsule was placed beneath the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House on July 4, 1795, as per an MFA report.


The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has identified Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and William Scollay as the people involved in placing it there. The objects inside were meant to preserve a record of the period for people who would find them much later.

The capsule was opened again in 1855

The time capsule was not sealed continuously for more than two centuries. It was removed and opened in 1855. Its contents were recorded and cleaned, while additional items were added before the capsule was put into a new brass container and returned to the cornerstone, as per the MFA report.

That helps explain why the objects eventually recovered did not all come from 1795. The capsule contained items from different periods.

The time capsule was removed in 2014

The capsule was located again in 2014 during work at the State House. Ground-penetrating radar was used to confirm its position.

On December 11, 2014, Museum of Fine Arts conservator Pam Hatchfield carefully excavated the capsule and Walsh Brothers Construction helped with the removal.

The capsule was taken to the Museum of Fine Arts for examination and conservation. After being X-rayed in December, it was opened on January 6, 2015.

What was inside the 1795 time capsule

The capsule contained 24 silver and copper coins, newspapers, a copper medal showing George Washington and a silver plaque believed to have been engraved by Paul Revere.

There were also a paper impression of the Commonwealth seal, calling or business cards and a title page from the Massachusetts Colony Records.

The coins dated from 1667 to 1855. One of them was a Pine Tree shilling dating to roughly 1667–1682.

The silver plaque commemorated the laying of the State House cornerstone and was probably made by Revere. The George Washington medal was among the objects placed in the capsule in 1795.

A glimpse of Massachusetts history

The capsule had already lived through several chapters of history before it was opened in 2015, it was placed beneath the State House in 1795, opened and replenished in 1855, and then carefully removed in December 2014.

When it was finally opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, the contents provided a physical link to different periods of Massachusetts history, from the colonial era to the 19th century.