The surprisingly-well preserved contents of a sealed copper box was unveiled Saturday morning at the Mineola’s Historical Museum.

The box was placed in the cornerstone of the building when it was built in 1936 as a brand new U.S. Post Office.

Mineola Mayor Jayne Lankford, a former postal route carrier, noted that the post office corner was so busy that there was once a traffic light there.

Her relative D.S. Lankford was post master at the time of the dedication in 1937.

Wood County Historical Commission Chairman Ulna McWhorter noted that 1,500 people attended the dedication of the building. Bands played, politicians spoke, and a letter was read from President Franklin Roosevelt.

Though it was hoped that his letter was among the treasure trove revealed, it was not found, though several other pieces of correspondence were included.

Among items were lists of school and postal officials, bylaws of the Mineola Country Club and a list of city officials.

C.A. Peacock was mayor at the time, and his granddaughter, Lou Steele, who was on hand, was excited about the discovery.

The diamond edition of the then 60-year old Mineola Monitor was intact, along with an 1884 edition of the paper and a special edition of the Longview News.

The receipt from the Fixit Shop that fashioned the sealed copper box was included.

County Judge Kevin White, a Mineola native, said the documents in the box will allow a peak back in history.

There are people in the community who can reveal that history, which is slowly disappearing. And there is a generation that does not remember it, he said.

He noted the work of volunteers (who established and operate the museum) who are the heart and soul of a community, and he encouraged the audience to find a place to become involved. 

Among those thanked was local resident Logan Thompson, whose research helped identify the box and its historical value, which led to the unveiling now during the city’s sesquicentennial, rather than waiting another 13 years for its centennial.

Museum board Chairman Novada Bigham said this is another milestone for the history of the city of Mineola.

The documents will undergo a preservation process before going on display in the museum.

Contents of the Sept. 21, 1936 time capsule at the old Mineola post office opened July 8:

Newspapers

Longview Daily News, Sunday, May 31, 1936

Mineola Monitor 60th Anniversary Edition, March 26, 1936

Mineola Monitor Vol. 8, No. 10, Nov. 15, 1884

Publications (booklets)

Constitution and By-Laws of the Mineola Country Club, 24 pp., Dr. T.B. Reed

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, 1935, 30 pp.

Letters to R.H. Carraway, Mineola Monitor, editor

Jan. 18, 1936-U.S. Senate-Tom Connally, 1 p.

Feb. 24, 1936-U.S. Senate-Tom Connally, 2 pp.

Feb. 18, 1936-U.S. House of Representatives-Morgan Sanders, 1 p.

Feb. 21, 1935-U.S. House of Representatives-Morgan Sanders, 1 p.

Feb. 29, 1936-U.S. House of Representatives-Morgan Sanders, 2 pp.

July 11, 1936-U.S. House of Representatives-Morgan Sanders, 2 pp.

Sept. 16, 1936- H.J. Bryant, Tyler Chamber of Commerce, Tyler, Texas, 1 p. 

Letters to the Mineola Monitor

April 29, 1936-Contractor Algernon Blair, 1 p.

June 2, 1936-Contractor Algernon Blair, 1 p. 

Lists

Mineola Post Office Department, Sept. 21, 1936, D.S. Lankford, postmaster, 1 p.

Mineola Public School officials, 1936-37, Ben A. Copass, superintendent, 1 p.

City of Mineola Officials, C.A. Peacock, mayor, 1 p.

Members of Mineola Fire Department (volunteer), Sept. 21, 1936, 1 p.

Membership roster, Mineola Masonic Lodge No. 502, A.F. & A.M., chartered Dec. 16, 1882, 5 pp.

Luckett Cochran Post 296, 1935-36, officers and members, 2 pp.

Summary of Lions Club 1924-1936, by H.O. Rogers, 2 pp. 

Ephemera

Governor of Texas poem, belonging to C.E. Revelle

1890 and 1894 Democratic tickets, 2 separate columns

Fixit Shop Advertisement, this business prepared the metal box for the time capsule. (the box was engraved)