Union Station Time Capsule: A Glimpse Into Ogden's Past
Union Station is marking its 100th anniversary this year, and one of the highlights of the centennial celebrations was the unveiling of a historic time capsule that had been sealed within the building’s foundation in 1924. During a special cornerstone ceremony, attended by a large crowd of residents, Ogden City officials, media, dignitaries, and other onlookers, officials carefully removed the time capsule from behind the cornerstone, where it had remained untouched for exactly 100 years to the day.
The time capsule was sealed within the cornerstone during a ceremony on May 31, 1924. Inside the copper box were various artifacts from the 1920s, along with items from an earlier time capsule dating back to 1889. Thankfully, the contents of this original time capsule had been preserved, as the original Union Station was destroyed by a fire in 1889.
Shane Osguthorpe, the master of ceremonies, highlighted the importance of the year 1924 in Union Station’s history.
“Throughout this centennial year, we’re honoring and celebrating the impact of this amazing building behind me and it’s impact on our community over the past 100 years,” he said. “In its crudest definition, a building is a bunch of brick and mortar, right? … But we can go deeper, and we can appreciate the utility of this space and what it’s contributed to our community over the last century. … This evening, we have a unique experience to get a look at the people who inhabited this amazing community exactly 100 years ago today—the people who demanded this building be constructed in the wake of a huge community tragedy,” Osguthorpe continued. “We’ll see lists of important political leaders of the time, key business leaders, we’ll have lists of stone masons and rail workers who were working in this building. But more importantly and more revealing than just names, we’ll get a glimpse of what life was like 100 years ago today, and we’ll come away with a greater understanding of what the city of Ogden valued a century ago today.”
Unveiling Ogden's Legacy: A Momentous Ceremony at Union Station
Hope Eggett, curator of all the Museums at Union Station, is dedicated to preserving the station’s historical significance and honoring the legacy of those who have made it a cornerstone of the community. She then provided a brief history of Union Station’s construction.
“This station is not just a building, but a symbol of our city’s growth and its heritage and, most importantly for this cornerstone, it is a symbol of the hope and the opportunity that leaders in 1924 saw in this station and the hope and the opportunity that is still surrounding the station today,” she said.
Angelika Brewer, an Ogden poet laureate, followed Eggett’s remarks with a poem that was originally recited at the 1888 cornerstone ceremony.
Dave Tingey, Grand Master of Masons in Utah, also spoke about the significance of cornerstones and the long-standing tradition of Free Masons in commemorating their placement throughout history.
Just before the cornerstone ceremony, masonry workers carefully removed several bricks from above the cornerstone to expose the inset copper box. After some effort, Eggett and Tingey managed to extract the box and transported it to the Browning Theater inside the station for the next part of the ceremony. Osguthorpe and Eggett were joined onstage by Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, historian Charlie Trentelman, and Lorenzo Tibbitts, Grand Secretary of the Utah Masons Grand Lodge, to open the time capsule. Together, they served as a panel of experts, explaining and discussing each artifact as it was removed from the capsule.
“This is a moment of history to be proud of, and we have a long history and past to be proud of,” said Mayor Nadolski. “We may not be perfect, but we are Ogden, and Ogden is exactly what we want to be. It’s exactly where we want to be.”
When the time capsule was opened, it was revealed that its contents were in excellent condition, especially given the many decades that had passed. Since many time capsules suffer damage from water and other elements due to poor sealing, everyone in attendance was relieved to find this one remarkably well-preserved. The items had mostly been cataloged, but there were a few artifacts that surprised the panel
Some of the artifacts from the time capsule included:
- A copy of the building permit for the 1924 Union Station.
- Travel pamphlets for both Ogden City and Salt Lake City.
- Newspaper editions of the Ogden Standard-Examiner, Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, and Salt Lake Telegram and Deseret News from 1924.
- Photos of the 1889 and 1924 Union Station and the surrounding property.
- A letter from the Union Pacific Railroad outlining the design of the 1924 station.
- Books of Ogden City laws and ordinances from 1881.
- 1924 train timetables Financial records for Ogden City from 1924.
- A Monroe Doctrine centennial halfdollar coin.
As each artifact was removed from the capsule and discussed by the panel for its significance before carefully placing it on a table for attendees to view. Eggett mentioned that there are plans to research, analyze, and catalog the artifacts, which will then be displayed at the Station’s 100-year anniversary event in November.
Regarding a new time capsule, Eggett shared plans to create one to be opened in another 100 years. “We’d like to leave a statement for the next century about our thoughts on Ogden and Union Station today,” she said. Ogden will also offer public feedback opportunities for the community to suggest what should be included in the new capsule.
The Union Station time capsule is a testament to how history communicates with us. It carries messages from the people of Ogden in both 1889 and 1924 to those of today. Visit Union Station to see and hear the insights they shared from their time.
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