The time capsule buried 50 years ago on the courthouse lawn has been found. It was unearthed on Saturday afternoon by Lee Young.

The time capsule was buried on the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn in 1973 and a marker was placed above ground. But early efforts in late May to retrieve the capsule were unsuccessful.

Gary Bagby, a member of the bicentennial committee and the Fayette Area Heritage Association (FAHA), said pinpointing the exact location of the vault has been problematic. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was employed on Friday morning, but the Howard County clay made results inconclusive. Max Sperry, from Terracon in Columbia, deployed the GPR at no cost to the city. 

Terracon recently used GPR to locate unmarked graves on the south edge of the Fayette City Cemetery that were found by workers updating the city’s sewer system.

Fayette third and fourth graders in summer school social studies classes enjoyed talking to Eastern District County Commissioner Jeff Stockhorst on Friday morning while the GPR was being used. 

Ultimately it was photographs taken by Don Hilgedick when the time capsule was buried at the conclusion of the Fayette Area Sesquicentennial in October 1973 that proved to be instrumental in locating the vault, Bagby said. 

The students were accompanied by their teachers, Adrian Stumbaugh, and Melisa Felten, and Daly Elementary Principal Cheri Huster. They had just completed a tour of the courthouse and other historic buildings around the square as part of their study of Fayette’s 200-year history.

Students at Fayette Schools have enjoyed Fayette history presentations by members of the Bicentennial Committee this spring. Many are participating in the Bicentennial Poster Contest sponsored by the Fayette Area Heritage Association. Their posters will be displayed, and prizes will be awarded at the Fayette of the Arts on August 5. All students in the Fayette district are eligible to enter. Information and required poster paper are available at the Fayette Public Library. All posters must be turned in at the Library by July 15.

The time capsule will be stored until it is opened on August 5 during the annual Fayette Festival of the Arts. A new time capsule will then be buried. Bagby said he has a list of the contents of the 1973 capsule, and plans to contact original contributors and their families prior to its opening.

The bicentennial committee is seeking entries to be included in the next time capsule that will be buried in August. The FAHA building on the west side of the courthouse square will be open from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday until the August 5 for submissions. The cost to include an item is $10. The committee will also have a booth set up on Saturday, June 17, during the Juneteenth celebration.