1891 Time Capsule Opens a Window into Kane County's Past
What did Kane County look like in 1891? A 135-year-old time capsule offers some fascinating answers.
As the nation continues to celebrate its 250th birthday, many communities are marking the milestone by creating their own time capsules to give future generations a glimpse of life today. Kane County Connects recently visited the Geneva History Museum to explore several of the 150 items preserved in an 1891 time capsule, that was sealed deep inside a cornerstone of the historic, four-story Kane County Courthouse on Third Street in Geneva until 1994.
As the story goes, Kane County officials forgot about the capsule when the courthouse celebrated its centennial in 1991. The contents were opened a few years later in 1994. The Kane County Board then presented them to the Geneva History Museum for preservation and the items were put on display for a time for the public to view.
Among the treasures were about 20 newspapers from 1891, schoolbooks, coins, tax records, a county map, children's drawings and a list of county officials.
Markie Striegel, curator of collections and exhibitions at the Geneva History Museum, said she particularly enjoyed seeing the contributions from students, including drawings, writings and artwork. She also found it interesting to see how much things cost back in 1891 by looking at advertisements in the newspapers.
It's hard not to notice the dramatic change in local newspapers. In 1891, numerous newspapers served communities throughout Kane County.
Among those represented were the Aurora Democrat, Aurora Evening Post, Aurora Daily News, Aurora Beacon News, Elgin Courier, Geneva Republican, the Aurora and Elgin Volksfreund (which was entirely in German), Elgin Daily News, Dundee Hawkeye, Dundee Courier News and Hampshire Register.
One Aurora newspaper article detailed the spread of an illness known as the “Grip," which reportedly had sickened half the town. The headline reads “Have You Had the Grip?" A doctor interviewed for the story would go on to describe the illness as epidemic bronchitis.
The capsule also contained coins, including an 1880 Indian Head penny, an 1895 Canadian one-cent piece and an 1890 Liberty Head nickel.
Several schools contributed items, including the Doty School in Hampshire and Brody and Young schools in Aurora, along with rural schools identified only by township numbers. Students contributed their spelling and math lessons, along with test scores and the names of their teachers.
Striegel said time capsules remain a popular way to preserve a moment in history, although today's easy access to information through the internet can make it more challenging to create something that will feel truly revelatory to future generations.
However, there are still several time capsules waiting to be unearthed in Geneva, Striegel said, including one near Third and Campbell streets at the foot of the Kane County Courthouse, not too far from where the 1891 capsule once rested.
To learn more about the Geneva History Museum, visit https://www.genevahistorymuseum.org/. To learn more about Kane County Government and the services and programs it offers residents, visit https://www.kanecountyil.gov/.
