Inside the time capsule that was recently unburied on the square in Jacksonville, were almost 200 letters that, when written, were addressed to people in the future.
The future is now here and the recipients of those letters are collecting them and reading their messages from the past.
To discover if you have a letter waiting for you, visit https://jacksonvilleil.org/2025/06/time-capsule-letters-from-1825-ready-for-pickup/.
Letters can be picked up at the office of the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 310 E. State St., Jacksonville.
Tom Grojean holds a letter to Joe, Charles and Thomas Grojean.
Karla Stice holds a letter from her descendants.
Ginny Fanning and Celeste Hill look through an envelope addressed to Hill. The envelope featured a letter written by Hill at the time that Fanning was student teaching in Hill’s classroom.
Jo Ann Nelson holds a letter to the Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mary Fergurson holds a letter to the “Trustees of Jacksonville Library Board.”
From left, Jared Reno, pastor of Central Christian Church, holds a letter to the church; Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Brittany Henry; and Mark Gillespie, who picked up the letter to Elm City Center.
