Girl Scout Time Capsule

In January 1975, the National Park Service briefly removed the Minute Man statue at the North Bridge from its base for preservation work. Before it was returned, just a few weeks shy of the Bicentennial celebration, local Girl Scout troops placed a time capsule inside the base, set to be opened in 2075. The idea for the time capsule was jointly conceived by David Moffitt, the then-superintendent of Minute Man National Historical Park, and the 1975 Celebrations Committee, who had spent nearly a decade planning the Bicentennial festivities. 

Compiling a time capsule representing life in Concord in 1975 was assigned to Concord's 25 Girl Scout troops. Each troop wrote letters to selected individuals representing the town, region, state, and country. Each recipient was asked to describe their profession and responsibilities and what life was like for them in 1975. Recipients were divided into ten categories: town officials, elder leaders, people in public life, Concord Honored Citizens, Concord business owners and descendants of historical and literary figures, historians, artists and writers, clergy, scientists, and former Girl Scouts. 

Both the original paper materials and a copy of the microfilm are available for use in the William Munroe Special Collections. Below are highlights from the time capsule.