103-Year-Old Forgotten Time Capsule Discovered In Albion Post Office
A shocking discovery was made over the weekend in Albion, as it appears that a 103-year-old time capsule has been discovered, which would just about line up with the origins of the building. The current Post Office was built starting in 1916 and opened in June 1917. The location at 307 N Superior St, Albion, MI 49224 was originally the site of the F. M. Manning home, and the Van Atta Hotel, which was torn down to make way for the P.O. According to a recent post, a cleaning team made the discovery:
A cleaning crew stumbled across a 103-year-old time capsule at the post office in Albion Mi. that everyone had forgotten about in a cornerstone of the building because a pine tree had grown over it. I guess there are plans on opening it.
The post office has some interesting history, as this article from 1994 gives a little background on how the building came to be and the unlikely (for the time) team that erected it:
It is a well-known fact that the funds for the erection of Albion’s Post Office building were secured by Albion’s most distinguished citizen, the Hon. Washington Gardner (1845-1928), who served in the U.S. Congress from 1899 to 1911. While it is Gardner who is given the credit for securing the funds for our local post office, it was a black man who built it. Our Albion Post Office was constructed under the supervision of engineer Lowell W. Baker (1869-1933). Mr. Baker was at that time the only black person to ever hold the rank of government consulting engineer.
We'll be keeping an eye out for what is inside, and will be reaching out to see if we can get any updates as to when they plan on opening it.
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