Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The cornerstone of the courthouse, around which the time capsule was located in the 1970s.

You can’t look at the Warren County Courthouse and think that the local officials that spurred its construction weren’t concerned about what they left to posterity.

Outside of maybe the Struthers Library Theatre, the courthouse is without a doubt the most recognizable building in Warren County.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold some secrets.

Look no further than the cornerstone for that.

In 1976, the country was celebrating it’s bicentennial and the courthouse cornerstone had been laid 100 years previously.

Commissioner Dr. David Rice called the decision to go looking for the time capsule to open for the bicentennial “the biggest mistake I ever made.”

“You might say it was something that came to mind as I was rolling around in my sleep,” Rice Times the Warren paper. “I checked the old minutes meeting book and found out there was a dedication ceremony, so I figured they must have put something either in or behind the cornerstone as part of the dedication.

“So I got in touch with Chase Putnam (Historical Society director) and asked him to research it,” Rice said. “He in turn got in touch with the reference librarian at the Warren County Library and she came up with the newspaper clip… we then took it from there.

That newspaper clip gave the resting place of the box at the northeast corner of the building, so there was some confusion as to the location of the cornerstone, as the date stone is in the southeast corner.

That required several holes to br drilled in several areas before the box was finally located in the southeast corner where the date stone is.

Drills were used. Metal detectors and stone hammers. as well.

What they found was a copper-lined tin box that contained aseverla newspapers – the Warren Mail, Tidioute Weekly News, The Home Journal which was published in Sugar Grove in addition to copies oof the Chautauqua County News, Bradford New Era and the Harrisburg Temperance Vindincator.

There were copies of the Warren Mail that outlined the Republican and Democratic party platforms in 1876, autographs of the chief clerk and county commissioners who were in office when the courthouse was built, as well as two checks, one for $1.01 and another for $1.25, written out to be paid by the Warren County Treasurer to the bearer of the checks on July 4, 1976.

A badly worn coin, identified as a silver three cent piece was also found along with a copy of Henry Rouse’s will, a $5 bill issued by the First National Bank of Warren three tickets – one each for the Conewango Bridge Company, Pleasant Bridge Companies and the Union Stret Railway Company as well as a business card for the architect of the courthouse, M.E. Beebe, were found inside.

The capsule was removed on May 13, 1976 and opened the following morning.

The contents were on display in the lobby of the courthouse with the newspapser from Tidioute, Youngsville and Sugar Grove, placed on display in those towns.

Officials added numerous items to the box, newspapers, magazines, and a $2 bill among a host of others, including a bumper sticker that says “Mike Shine Country – Warren County, Pa.”

Shine, from Youngsville, earned a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics.

A&B Heating created a new copper box to hold the 1876 and 1976 items.

Everything was put back in the box on November 23 and put back in the cornerstone the morning after.

Who knows? Maybe some of us will make it to 2076 to see what they left us