Century-old time capsule found

A time capsule from 1901 was sealed inside a statue of a lion that sits atop the Old Massachusetts State House in Boston.

The Old Massachusetts State House, built in 1713, is maintained by the Bostonian Society, which opened the time capsule on Friday.

The capsule was placed inside during renovations in 1901 by local coppersmith Samuel Rogers.

The Bostonian Society said the process of extracting documents "that are old and probably fragile will need to be slow and careful."

A 1901 Boston Globe article predicted the time capsule, which included photographs and news clippings from the day, would "prove interesting when the box is opened many years hence."

None of the current staff at the Old Massachusetts State House knew about the capsule until they were made aware by a descendent of Rogers.

• Time capsule hidden since 1901 in Boston is discovered


• It holds photographs, campaign buttons and news clippings from the day


• The copper box is found in a statue atop the State House

(CNN) -- A time capsule hidden for more than a hundred years at one of Boston's most popular tourist attractions was opened on Friday in Boston.

According to the Bostonian Society, which maintains the 1713-built Old Massachusetts State House, the rectangular copper box containing a variety of artifacts from 1901 was sealed inside one of two iconic statues -- a lion and a unicorn -- that have been a familiar site atop the Old State House for a couple of centuries.

The Bostonian Society didn't -- or couldn't -- fully divulge the 113-year-old time capsule's contents, explaining that "the process of extracting documents that are old and probably fragile will need to be slow and careful." But a Boston Globe article from February 24, 1901, detailed what went into the box, which the story predicted would "prove interesting when the box is opened many years hence."

According to the Globe, the box included the photographs and autographs of local statesmen such as Massachusetts Gov. Winthrop M. Crane and Boston Mayor Thomas Norton Hart, as well as news clippings of the day from several city newspapers and even a "letter to posterity from the reporters of the Boston Daily newspapers assigned to City Hall."

It also included a photograph of the "5th Massachusetts Regiment on its way to Framingham to be mustered in as U.S. volunteers for service in the war against Spain," as well as "campaign buttons for McKinley, Roosevelt and John D. Long for vice president."

The box was sealed inside the lion's head by Samuel Rogers, a local coppersmith who was part of the crew renovating the nearly 200-year-old State House. Although the occasion was detailed in the city's largest newspaper, the Bostonian Society said its current staff was unaware of the time capsule until they received a letter from a descendent of Rogers alerting them to it.