Two thousand seventy-six came a little early in Council Bluffs.

A time capsule that was to be opened in that year was cracked open last week when construction workers dug it up to make way for the basement of the Pottawattamie County Courthouse addition.

The container, roughly 2 feet by 4 feet, held documents, newspapers, books and other items of local and/or national significance.

The existence of the time capsule was noted on a bronze plaque mounted on a granite marker on the courthouse lawn, but there were no instructions on where to find it, according to Jason Slack, director of buildings and grounds for Pottawattamie County.

“If you knocked on the bronze plate, it sounded hollow, so we thought that was the capsule,” he told The Daily Nonpareil.

The crew took the granite marker with the plaque to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office for safekeeping, Slack said. When that turned out not to be the capsule, they started digging where the marker had been. It wasn’t until they got 9 or 10 feet down that they struck the capsule.

“The backhoe took a chunk out of the corner of it,” he said.

The capsule was enclosed in a concrete burial vault, Slack said.

“It looked like it had been sealed, but water had seeped into it sometime,” he said. “Everything in there was soaking wet.”

The contents were taken to a county shed, where they were spread out on tables to dry, Slack said. He met with several people from the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, who looked over the materials.

“I know this was an accident, but I think it was a lucky accident,” said Dick Warner of the historical society. “There were some things that were pretty well shot. Another few decades, and there might not have been much left.”

He said the building and grounds crew had done the right thing by letting things dry and calling the historical society.

The time capsule had been buried on July 4, 1977 – the end of the U.S. Bicentennial – and was to be opened on July 4, 2076 — the nation’s 300th birthday. Local leaders had collected bicentennial memorabilia, other items of national significance and information on the community to include in the snapshot of life in the 1970s.

“I was quite impressed with the breadth of the collection and the size of the collection that was in there,” Warner said. “Whoever put it together did an incredible job of getting representations of local organizations.”

Bicentennial items included a banner, large copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, a bicentennial message from President Gerald Ford, commemorative medallions and numerous newspaper articles. There was an information packet on the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter on Jan. 20, 1977.

Most of the contents were related to the local community. There was a proclamation signed by then-Mayor Daniel E. Lewis, a map of Council Bluffs, yearbooks from local high schools, a St. Albert Catholic Schools Student & Parent Handbook, an Iowa Western Community College Catalog, a copy of the Council Bluffs Community School District 1975-76 Annual Report, information on the design for Iowa Power’s Council Bluffs Power Station Unit 3 and area newspapers with articles on local developments, such as construction of Midlands Mall and completion of the courthouse itself.

There were also materials submitted by local businesses and organizations, such as advertising materials from local car dealers and information on club activities, including fundraising for the Jaycees’ fireworks display.

“They reached out to over 100 organizations in the area,” Slack said.

Other contents included the following:

• Men’s and women’s clothing

• A water sample from Council Bluffs Water Works (for future scientists to analyze)

• Two toy tractors

• New, unopened cassette tapes of popular music

• A Sears catalog

At some point, the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors will have to decide whether to try to seal everything in a different container and bury them again or preserve them above ground and perhaps display some items. Slack met with several people from the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County to get advice on preserving the artifacts. He also plans to contact officials at The Durham Museum in Omaha.

“Once we get some information from the conservators about how to preserve things, we’ll at least have some suggestions for the board,” he said.