Category: Found in the Archives

Time Capsules on Campus

Posted on by Sammi Merritt

By Sammi Merritt

Following the 2024 discovery of time capsules in the cornerstones of the Main Library and McKinley Health Center, we have wondered whether there might be more “copper boxes” hidden throughout campus. Upon further investigation, it appears that these cornerstone boxes may be more common than we imagined.

Early 20th century newspaper articles indicate that it was a common practice – not only on campus, but around the world – to include such a “copper box” in new building cornerstones. In those days, as now, it was common to hold a cornerstone laying ceremony to lay the cornerstone for new buildings. Over 265 (digitized) articles from Illinois newspapers, including 30 articles from the Daily Illini, suggest that a core purpose of this ceremony was to fill and encapsulate these boxes within the cornerstone. On May 9, 1924, in anticipation of the cornerstone laying ceremony for McKinley Hospital (now McKinley Health Center), the Daily Illini states this clearly: “The big box that dominates every cornerstone laying is being filled with the numerous articles today…”

Programs and photos from these ceremonies, which were held for many new campus buildings, can be found in the Archives in record series 2/0/808 Building and Statue Dedication Programs and 39/2/20 Photographic Subject File, respectively. Many photographs from these ceremonies actually depict the copper box being enclosed within the cornerstone, such as the two from the McKinley Hospital ceremonies linked below.

Campus news sources covered the deposit of some boxes, but not all of them. Although the Champaign News Gazette published a list of the contents of the capsule in the Main Library’s cornerstone, The Daily Illini published nothing on the box. Conversely, The Daily Illini published many details about the copper boxes in McKinley Hospital and the Architecture Building’s cornerstones.

A full list of university buildings which are known (as of June 2025) to contain a copper box can be found below. It is possible that more will be discovered as additional sources are identified, and that more undocumented cornerstone boxes will come to light as buildings reach the end of their life on campus.

(Note that university buildings on the Chicago campus and local Champaign-Urbana buildings have been omitted from this list, but many of these buildings do contain copper boxes confirmed in the source below; notably the Champaign and Urbana City Buildings.)

[A copy of this blog post can be found in the Archives’ ready reference file on “Buildings, University.”]

University of Illinois Buildings Which Contain Time Capsules

All buildings with known or suspected time capsules are listed below, in chronological order of their cornerstone laying.

Four main sources were used to confirm the presence of time capsules/copper boxes in the following list:

The sources which confirm the presence of each box are included beneath the building name, with the digitized source linked where possible.

Legend

(Current building name [if different from original name])
[x] Building no longer exists
* Time capsule has already been retrieved
^ Indicates a time capsule that has been or will be replaced
[?] Suspected time capsule (not confirmed)

1871

  • University Hall [x]*
    [x] Building demolished in 1938.
    *Time capsule retrieved in 1938 and placed into the Gregory Hall cornerstone in 1939.

1892

  • Natural History Building

1896

1906

  • Auditorium (Foellinger Auditorium)

1907

1909

  • Osborne Hall (Chi Omega Sorority House)

1910

1912

  • Commerce Building (Old)
    [Note that The Daily Illini refers to this as the “New” Commerce Building, but this is 12 years before construction of the “New” New Commerce Building, which was dedicated on the same day as the “New” Library and “New” Gymnasium in 1924.]

  • 1912 Senior Memorial: “Eternal Flame”

1913

1914

1915

1916

  • Women’s Residence Hall (Busey Hall)

1917

  • Tina Weedon Smith Memorial Building (Smith Hall) [?]
    [?] Suspected to have a time capsule containing phonographic discs of the University Band due to mention of recordings made for this purpose in 1909 DI

1920

1922

1924

  • McKinley Hospital (McKinley Health Center) *^
    *Retrieved on March 24, 2025 as part of 100th Anniversary celebrations.
    ^To be replaced in 2025.

    • The Daily Illini, June 3, 1924, pp 7
    • See also: McKinley Hospital Addition (1961)
  • New Library (Main Library) *^
    *Retrieved in October 2024 as part of 100th Anniversary celebrations.
    ^To be replaced in 2025.

    • Champaign News Gazette, June 8, 1924, pp 1
    • The Daily Illini, June 6, 1924, pp 1
  • New Commerce Building (David Kinley Hall)
    • Champaign News Gazette, June 8, 1924, pp 1
    • The Daily Illini, June 6, 1924, pp 1
  • New Men’s Gymnasium (Huff Hall)
    • Champaign News Gazette, June 8, 1924, pp 1
    • The Daily Illini, June 6, 1924, pp 1

1926

1928

1930

1931

1934

1937

1939

1948

  • Mechanical Engineering Building

1951

1955

1958

1961

1962

1963

  • College of Education Building

1978

1981

1987

Collection Highlight

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By Kathleen Corcella

Alumni papers can contain a wide variety of materials that can shed light on the history of the University and how people lived in the past. Recently, the University Archives has been working on one particular alumni collection, the Russell A. Cone Papers, 1899-2020 (Record Series 26/20/239).

Col. Russell A. Cone  ’27 was an active member of the University, participating in the ROTC and Greek life. He served in World War II and was stationed in Alaska. His papers contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, service medals, certificates, publications, programs, and scrapbooks. Since these are personal records, there are also materials related to his first wife, Helen Bess Finch Cone. Helen also attended the University of Illinois and is found in the photographs and the many letters she exchanged with Russell. These materials were donated and preserved with the hope that students, faculty, and the public will be able to learn more about two incredible alums of the University of Illinois.

Claire Robertson has kindly provided biographies for Col. Russell A. Cone and Helen Bess Finch Cone (see below). Special thanks to Claire for her contributions and insights to the collection.

If you are interested in learning more about the collection, or would like to arrange an appointment to view the items, please email us at illiarch@illinois.edu.

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100 Years Later: The University Library Time Capsule

Posted on by Sammi Merritt

By Sammi Merritt

The University Library building celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 15, 2024. Leading up to the celebration, many Library units reached out to the University Archives looking for photos, historical material, and other support in the creation of exhibits to commemorate the occasion.

As the exhibit deadlines approached, the Archives received a final reference request from the Facilities Office: when the cornerstone for the building was laid in 1924, was a time capsule hidden inside?

Continue reading “100 Years Later: The University Library Time Capsule” →

John Philip Sousa’s Newly Uncovered Letters

Posted on by Spenser Bailey

John Philip Sousa’s Newly Uncovered Letters

By Scott Schwartz

Recently the Sousa Archives acquired the Frances Carter and Marjorie Moore Sousa Research Files documenting John Philip Sousa’s relationship with his family while America’s March King.  The collection includes Sousa’s letters to his wife; early photographs of Sousa’s bands; original scripts and schedules for 20th Century Fox’s 1952 movie, Stars and Stripes Forever; memorabilia; and magazine articles.

Photograph showing Helen and Jane Priscilla Sousa, two young girls in white dresses.
Helen and Jane Priscilla Sousa, c. 1898.

The documents were compiled by Sousa’s daughters, Helen and Jane Priscilla, and Marjorie Moore, the Marine Band’s first historiographer, to fact-check the script for Fox’s biographical movie about Sousa’s life and music.

Sousa’s influence on late 19th– and early 20th-century music is well known, but very little is known about his relationship with his family.  As a traveling bandleader Sousa gave thousands of concerts between 1892 and 1932 and spent months away from his family.

Sousa’s wife Jane and children accompanied him for some portions of tours, but he usually travelled without them.  These absences occasionally created tensions with his family, and his letters home document their very private lives.

In WWI in 1917 Sousa offered his services to the U.S. Marines and then the U.S. Army, but he was turned down because of his age and became frustrated by their responses.  However, the commandant of the Great Lakes Naval Center offered Sousa a commission as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve to organize and train Navy bands for the war.

Sousa’s short letter to Jane on September 21, 1917, announcing his Navy commissioning probably caught her by surprise because he had temporarily disbanded his civil band.  He wrote, “Dearest Jane…No dear, I am not in the Navy as a regular but as a Reserve Officer ordered to active duty which gives me as long as I am under orders as an active Lieutenant with the pay and allowance of a Lieutenant (Senior Grade) of the Navy.”

Photograph showing John Philip Sousa, with a white beard and smoking a cigar, reading the "Great Lakes Naval Recruit" magazine.
John Philip Sousa as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1917.

While on tour with the Great Lakes Naval Battalion band on May 17, 1918, Sousa wrote, “Dearest Jane, I am here with the band until Tuesday night, then to Cleveland [and] N.Y. for the war bond concert and some work in connection with the Atlantic Fleet…Hope to see you on the 28th.  With much love and kisses, devotedly, Philip.”  However, by early September Sousa’s civilian band was reconstituted to complete their Willow Grove Park performances and he left for Chicago rather than returning home.  This annoyed Mrs. Sousa.  He wrote on September 13, “Dear Jane, I am enclosing your allowance for September.  It must be a delicious and satisfying feeling to receive an allowance of $1,000 per month, and also possess the right to give your husband hell when it so moves you…Am tired.  Affectionately, Philip.”

Sousa’s tenure with the Naval Battalion Band ended in 1920, but his commission with the Navy for a dollar a year allowed him to lead his civilian band throughout 1919 when not needed by the Navy.  His 1919 civilian band tour across America and Canada left Sousa little time for family and the growing tensions on the home front.

His July 6, 1919, letter to Jane began, “Dearest wife.  The same forces that silently and relentlessly led the world into a war…started an individual and family antipathy that has no parallel in history…Our family is not the only one…Philip’s contempt for Priscilla and Helen, Helen’s contempt for the rest, Priscilla’s indifference to me and you…make each other as unhappy as possible…The average person’s judgement about other’s affairs is usually of no value…Devotedly. Philip”

It is unclear what caused this animosity, but Sousa’s continuous touring with his civilian band most likely inflamed these tensions.  However, by 1925 the tone of Sousa’s letters home had softened.

After his 71st birthday he wrote on November 11th, “My dearest little lady.  In my courting days and after I used to write you at all hours of the night and day, but it has been some time since I wrote you at 5:15am…Many thanks for your birthday greeting…the Rotary Club and others entertained me in Peoria.  I got more flowers than a blushing prima donna…I am in good condition, but a little shy on sleep…With much love, Philip.”

Photograph showing Jane Sousa, wearing a frilly white lace dress.
Jane Sousa, wife of John Philip Sousa, as she looked in the 1880s.

By 1929 his band’s touring schedule was limited to three months.  When not on tour Sousa spent his time at home in Port Washington, New York.  He wrote to Jane who was visiting her son and grandchildren in California, “Dearly Beloved, your telegram… came announcing your safe arrival…Priscilla and I were glad you…arrived safely. I do hope you’ll have a pleasant visit…Priscilla felt that I should be watched carefully and…not take more than an ounce of whiskey, all of which I obey as any dutiful and loving father should.  But please tell her not to be so hard on a poor old father.”

The following March 21, 1930, Sousa wrote from Chicago’s Auditorium Hotel about his short trip to the University of Illinois to conduct his new “University of Illinois March” with Harding’s concert band.  “My darling wife, I have had a rather hectic time since I left N.Y…Yesterday I drove out to the University 175 miles.  They had a concert by the student band.  They played splendidly.  The students gave me a medal, the bandmaster gave me a baton, a medal, and their blessing…Ever your loving Philip.”

These brief samples from the Carter and Moore collection provide realistic insight of Sousa’s relationship with his family and help dispel the storybook portrayals of him as America’s March King.  This newly acquired collection will be arranged and described this fall, and it will become available to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Sousa’s life and career.  For further information about the collection contact sousa@illinois.edu or call 217-333-4577.

Raiders of the Lost Archives – Archival Context and a Map to an Undiscovered Tomb

Posted on by Sammi Merritt

By Sammi Merritt

Finding information in the archives can sometimes feel like an expedition through time – a scavenger hunt in countless records to find the holy grail document that you’re looking for, sifting through ancient ruins and dusty boxes for the one scrap of information that will definitively answer your research question. On occasion, this digging will turn up the exact information you were looking for. Other times, you must answer your questions to the best of the ability of the extant sources, and results are not always as conclusive as we would like them to be.

Sometimes, you come across an item that raises far more questions than it answers. For me, this serendipitous moment occurred while browsing the Neil L. Block Papers (RS 35/3/418). This item, found within a folder inconspicuously labelled “Ancient Egypt – Notes On,” is a 12-page document, handwritten in a purple cursive script on lined, 3-hole punched paper.[1] The first page contains a brief abstract about the Pharaoh Tutankhamen: his life, his reign, the discovery of his tomb, and the grave goods found within. The following 11 pages appear to record a question-and-answer session in which the responder describes exactly where and how to find a (presumably still lost) Egyptian tomb. The 67 questions in the document are addressed to “Ouija,” and the entity responding makes references to the use of a board. Mention of a medium implies that, much like the séances conducted as part of Edwin Peebles’ research (RS 35/2/50), this conversation could have been facilitated through the use of a medium as well. The questions in the document sought to clarify the location of a tomb and how to find it, but the answers are cryptic and sometimes contradictory.

Continue reading “Raiders of the Lost Archives – Archival Context and a Map to an Undiscovered Tomb” →