All the way from 1864
Taking a closer look at what was inside the time capsule found under the old county jailhouse
On Aug. 19, about 40 or 50 people gathered behind the courthouse to learn the fate of the time capsule that was placed on Thursday, June 9, 1864 under the cornerstone for the second jail.
The group assembled at the main entrance to the courthouse and was led across part of the construction site to a flat area near the cornerstone. The cornerstone was a surprisingly large cube, about two feet on each side. Warden J. Murray Jones presided, and remarked on how different the world of today was from that of 152 years ago. MP Jeff Leal drew attention to the Charlottetown Conference, one of the key moments on the road to Confederation in 1867. Mayor Daryl Bennett noted that there had been a few historic moments in the county this year.
The warden acknowledged that the staff was grateful for the assistance of Ken Brown and Pat and Jack Marchen who had persisted in drawing attention to the historical record that there was a time capsule in the area being demolished in preparation for a Jail Park that will commemorate the local history. The Sutcliffes commented on their efforts to discover the location of the time capsule, and Bill Lett, the architect, drew attention to the bigger picture. The backhoe moved the “ponderous” cornerstone to reveal a hole in the ground that contained the time capsule. The three politicians and Basia Baklinski, a conservator working with Lang Pioneer Village, then took the capsule to the council chambers to be carefully opened. More than 30 people followed.
The first placing of a time capsule on this hill occurred in 1838, and was placed by Sir George Arthur, the acting Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. With the completion of the first jail house and the court house, the District of Colborne was granted letters patent, December 9, 1841, 175 years ago. There should be a big birthday party for Peterborough County, which was the extension of the District of Colborne, in about three months.
Canadian Confederation was developed in the shadow of the American Civil War, which in 1864 was in its fourth year. There was every possibility that a victorious North could finish what it could not do in the War of 1812.
Interestingly, the American Civil War had a direct impact in Peterborough in 1862. The Rev. Vincent Clementi spearheaded efforts to raise money for the operatives (workers) in Liverpool and the British Midlands who were unemployed because the North had successfully prevented Southern cotton from reaching British markets. When it was pointed out that people in Peterborough were destitute, most commonly because of the impact of winter, local women started the Peterborough Relief Society, which that winter operated the town’s first soup kitchen.
It is possible that the second jail was needed because Peterborough did not have proper facilities for looking after the destitute in its midst. When the second jail was completed, the first jail was remodeled for a warden’s residence above, and a place for poor people.
The formalities of 1864 were chaired by Dr. George Burnham, who read the official proclamation that was then placed in the time capsule. Sheriff James A. Hall, Charles Rubidge and Walter Sheridan and other gentlemen were on hand.
Hall had invited Robert D. Ewing, aged 35, to take three photos to be included in the box. Ewing had written descriptions on the back of the photos. Ewing had just opened his photo studio on the east side of Sheridan next to the former Union School; the following year, Ewing moved to Toronto to run a photographic supply business.
The three photos were the first items extracted from the jar. The first photo was of the courthouse hill taken from the residence of Mrs. Gilmour at Hunter and George, now the site of the Uptown Building. The photo of the courthouse park deserves careful inspection partly because we can be sure of the date. It matches closely a photo in the Electric City Collection at Trent Valley Archives; the courthouse was visible in the upper right hand corner, and the west side of Water Street was a mess, possibly preparation for the carriage factory. The photos will require urgent conservation treatment as there was some damage at the tops of two of the photos, and the darkening of the photos was a concern. The photos should be digitized as part of any preservation strategy.
The second photo showed the new Union School as seen from the park. The classic Italianate tower made it a unique school for the province. The stairs on the west side look quite steep, and a large house is visible towards College Street. The park had only been landscaped by the horticultural society a couple of years, but there were some large trees, dating from when the park served as the site of the county fair, from 1842 (as noted in Winners, and not 1845, as the Peterborough Agricultural Society and the local media believe) until the park was landscaped.
The third photo was of the Auburn Woolen Mills in 1864. There are two main buildings tied to the facility, and the first building was 2 1/2 story with a tower on the south end. Between it and a large mill building a tower and some houses are visible. The outlet into the river is visible.
For me, the three salt prints on a very thin photographic paper were the highlight of the day especially as two of the photos had never been seen locally and the third was never completely identified.
The other contents of the box were the proclamation, copies of the Examiner for June 9 and the Review for June 3, the County Council minutes for 1863 and 1864, calling cards for the Jailor and his assistant, five coin and the Canadian Almanac for 1864.
“The whole having been safely deposited in the box and sealed air tight, the stone was lowered, and in a few minutes declared by the builder to be well and truly laid.” The builder was Robert Grant while the architect for the second jail was Thomas F. Nicholl, the county engineer.
The first surprise was that the “box” containing the time capsule was actually a jar made of blown glass, and complete with a glass top. From a few feet way, I noticed that the top was patented in 1859, and there also seemed to be some raised printing on the jar. I hope to examine the jar more closely. I had expected the box to be of galvanized iron, about the size of two bricks.
The next item was the proclamation that had been read by Dr. George Burnham. This was printed on a blue stationery watermarked “A. Pirie and Sons 1862.” The paper was a bit brittle, and there were signs of moisture damage, and the ink was mostly faded. Fortunately, the wording was published in the 1864 Examiner, and contains a list of the current members of the town council and of the county council. During the 1850s, the town sent a reeve or deputy reeve to county council, but by 1864 the town was not linked to county council. The proclamation listed the members of both councils, as the county court house and jail served both the town and the county.
The newspapers were in quite good condition, but the Peterborough Review was clearly produced on better quality rag paper. Seeing the two together reminded us that the Review was the senior paper and at the time had the most subscribers.
The jar that contained the time capsule was also a mystery. It appears that the time capsule was placed in a Harkell air tight glass jar, and this was placed inside a metallic tin that had largely disintegrated. The glass lid had a rubber seal built into the inside. On the outside the raised lettering on the top said “Patented Oct. 19, 1858”, which was the date the Harkell jar was patented in Philadelphia. Around the edge, the raised lettering read, “Air tight cover Harkell Glass.” According to the county accounts in the minutes of the June meeting, the jar was supplied by William Cluxton, one of the town’s leading merchants since the 1830s.
Viewing the retrieval and opening of the contents of the time capsule was very moving. A moment in history was now a shared moment over 152 years. The choice of contents was thoughtful, and the general effect was to remind us that the Peterborough of 1864 was one of Canada’s largest towns, proud of its architecture, education and industry.
NOTE: Elwood Jones will be talking about the history of the jail, and sharing some of the information learned from the unveiling of the time capsule at the county courthouse on Sept. 21 at 7:30 pm. Reservations and tickets ($20) can be arranged by visiting the Trent Valley Archives, or by phoning 705745-4404.