Back in 1923 on Rhode Island’s Coasters Harbor Island at what was then known as the Naval Training Station, officials from the city of Newport, Rhode Island and the Navy collaborated on burying a time capsule under Settlers’ Stone, a marker dedicated to Newport’s founding by Nicholas Easton in 1639.
Fast forward to 2021, U.S. Naval War College Museum researchers were looking into another project when they came across a newspaper article about a U.S. Navy time capsule buried in 1923 at Rhode Island’s Naval Station Newport (near Guice Offshore’s present-day Providence northeastern office).
To confirm the time capsule’s presence, ground-penetrating radar was used, and the task of getting it out of the ground began in June 2024. This involved moving the bulky Settlers’ Stone with the help of heavy machinery and personnel from the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC).
Contracted workers then had to carve and chisel their way through a significant amount of bluestone concrete — destroying five metal saw blades in the process — to reveal a wooden box. Inside the box was the glass jar with the contents, which was removed and put on display at the library until the unveiling event held in January 2025.
Watch NBC news coverage of the opening HERE.
Personnel with the Naval War College Museum took center stage in carefully removing the material from the glass time capsule and explaining the significance of each piece.
Perhaps equally as laborious as getting the time capsule out from under approximately 40 inches of dirt and concrete was later getting it open before a room filled with eager viewers. For more than an hour, Museum officials attempted to remove the three-inch cover that was tightly sealed with two types of wax.
Handwarmers were utilized in an attempt to loosen the wax, and a member of the Naval Station Newport Fire Department was called in to try to pry open the container to no avail. Finally, they opened the canister using a wooden clamp, drawing cheers from the audience after a painstaking process.
Naval War College Museum collections specialist Maria Vazquez said there has been talk about creating another time capsule alongside officials from Naval Station Newport to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy later this year. If that does come to pass, she had one suggestion — make it easier to find and open.
Below is a list of what was in the time capsule. Click HERE to read the entire story.
Below is a list of the items that were found in the 1924 time capsule:
- Blueprint of Coasters Harbor Island and the Naval Training Station
- A 1924 directory of Navy officers
- Numerous issues of the “Navy Recruit,” which later became the “Newport Navalog” newspaper.
- Copy of naval officer, crew and civilian payrolls
- Street directory for the city of Newport
- General muster of Naval Training Station forces
- Photograph of the Naval Training Station with the word “Newport” formed by officers and enlisted Sailors
- City of Newport directory with those employed on the station denoted
- A pamphlet for the local Young Men’s Christian Academy (YMCA)
- Issues of The Newport Daily News and Newport Herald newspapers
- Copies of correspondence between Commanding Officer Capt. Franck T. Evans and Newport city officials
- Envelope with sawdust from USS Lawrence, flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
- Copy of regulations for U.S. Navy uniforms
- Coins from 1921 and 1923, as well as current postal stamps
- Photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt with U.S. Navy Capt. E.H. Campbell at the Naval Training Station in 1918
- Photograph of Coasters Harbor Island taken from the USS Shenandoah (ZR 1), the first Navy zeppelin
- Piece of wood from the first airplane to complete a commercial flight from New York to Newport
- Newport Historical Society bulletins
- The 1924 edition of The World Almanac
About the Naval War College Museum
Located in historic Founders Hall, the historic Naval War College Museum serves to educate the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) community, as the corporate memory of the U.S. Navy in the region, and as a clearinghouse for naval history information in New England. The Museum Director, a subjects-area specialist, and staff answer inquiries, provide guidance and orientation talks to visitors on regional naval history and current exhibits, and assist scholarly researchers in the use of the Museum holdings.
The Museum’s themes are the history of naval warfare, particularly as studied at the College, and the naval heritage of Narragansett Bay—a tale that begins with the nation’s colonial roots.
Its collection consists of items relating to these subjects that are perceived to be of value to scholarship, and it forms the core for exhibits throughout the College and for educational outreach projects. Besides permanent exhibits on the College, the genesis of the Navy in the region, and the evolution of permanent naval installations from the late nineteenth century to the present, the Museum features short-term special exhibits relating to College curriculum and to current naval-related topics.
In general, Museum exhibits identify milestones in the evolutionary development of war at sea; explain the significance of the sea as a factor in the formulation and the attainment of national policy objectives; describe the character, educational philosophy, and mission of the College; and chronicle the eventful relationship of the U.S. Navy with Narragansett Bay and its people.
To see the Museum’s newest exhibit, a virtual tour of the USS Constellation called “Winds of Change,” click HERE.