Dear editor:  

A time capsule buried in the grounds of Warren County Court House during the U.S. Bicentennial of 1976 is due to be opened this July 4, says the Old Court House Museum.  

The capsule, dedicated to Vicksburg, was buried alongside the U.S. 2076 one, for this year’s City Bicentennial. Contemporary news stories related that having two capsules in 1976 made Vicksburg and Warren County unique nationally.

In 1976, Mrs Bertha Kolb, chair of the Vicksburg-Warren Bicentennial Commission, said that the capsule would contain photos, “other contemporary mementoes,” and was to include up to 400 signatures of Vicksburg citizens on “special Bicentennial scrolls.”

Signatories — a parent could sign for a child — contributed, according to their age, $5 or $1 to take part. “The funds collected,” news reports said, “would be put in escrow at the three local banks to help 2025 officials defray the costs of celebrating the City’s 200 birthday.”

The youngest person to “sign,” according to The Vicksburg Post of July 6, 1976, was seven-month-old Jennifer Fulghum, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Fulghum. This then-infant would now be about 57 years old and, if around, could be an honored guest at the capsule opening.

The signatories’ contributions placed in escrow totaled $1,822. The bicentennial committee calculated that accumulating interest would increase the deposits to more than $31,000 over the next 49 years.

Most citizens of Vicksburg today are probably unaware of this nest egg still growing under the city’s feet, so to speak. A wizard of numbers could calculate not only the potential amount nowadays of the original savings based on changing interest rates, but also the actual value of the money today, counting inflation since 1976.

What to do with the money is next. The 1976 committee put no restrictions on its use. Vicksburg could just blow it on a party. More valuable and lasting would be to support historical preservation, such as putting the money toward buying 1414 Grove St., or 509 Locust St. — both historic houses from before the Civil War -– an era of the city’s history underrepresented by surviving structures. Admittedly, $31,000 would be a drop in the bucket, but it would be a start.

The question remains, however, “Where’s the money?” The three banks — the Bank of Vicksburg, Merchants National Bank and First National -– may or may not be the same institutions nowadays. We need, therefore, to ascertain which banks now hold the three accounts where the money was deposited by optimistic and forward-thinking citizens of Vicksburg in 1976. Finding out may involve considerable research, unless there’s someone out there who already has this valuable information at the end of their fingertips. Fingers crossed there is.  

Yours sincerely,

Bernadette Cahill