When the Farmersville school was demolished this past spring, community members worked to save key elements like the cornerstone, a shield from the front of the building and bricks. See School Cornerstone Saved for Memorial

No one knew that the cornerstone was hiding a treasure trove of documents and photos from 1923.

When the demolition team removed the cornerstone, they discovered a sealed copper box. They took the box to the Farmersville Village office, according to Farmersville Historical Society president Daryl Weller. The village maintenance team cut the box open and discovered the time capsule contents and gave the box and the information to Weller.

While no one living today knew of the time capsule, its purpose was covered by the Germantown Press and the Dayton Daily News in June 1923—the same issues of the newspapers that were placed in the time capsule.

In an article about the new building, The Press noted, “The hermetically sealed copper box which will be placed in the corner stone will contain a complete history of the school… the history of the churches; history of the town, some coins of small denomination, a list of the town’s social and fraternal organizations, and its places of business, copies of the Dayton Daily News and Germantown Press, and a list of those persons by who their efforts have made possible the handsome and commodious school building.”

News accounts state that the cornerstone was laid with a full Masonic ceremony with speeches and songs. The copper box from the cornerstone (see above) includes a Mason symbol visible inside. A note in the time capsule says the copper box was created by John G. Ruff, “a mechanic of exceptional ability.”

1900 Farmersville School

The new school on Jackson Street replaced the original school built in 1900, which now serves as the Masonic Temple. The entry to this building still includes a hallway of numbered hooks for student bookbags and coats.

According to a history of the school included in the time capsule, the first Farmersville High School was built by the Village for their students. Leaders quickly realized they couldn’t afford to maintain the building and they reached out to Jackson Township school leaders to join high schools. Jackson Township initially rebuffed the offer but came around in 1908 and the two boards signed an agreement.

Proving that school funding issues and politics are timeless, the time capsule history includes this exchange with an unnamed member of the Village Board of Education and Rev. L Fudge, who was the Board’s president. “We got a raw deal,” the member said. “Yes, but it was the best we could do and it may lead to something better,” Fudge replied.

Grade school students continued to attend separate schools and the 1900 building was used solely for high school students. Jackson Township and Farmersville maintained separate school boards until the new building was conceived in 1922.

The above photo included in the time capsule is of “John J. Swartsel and Wife.” Swartsel was a member of the Farmersville Board of Education during the construction of the 1900 school.

1923 Jackson Township-Farmersville School

In August 1922, Farmersville and Jackson Township joined their school boards and went to voters with a bond issue to fund a $135,000 new school, roughly $2.6 million in today’s dollars.

The levy passed and a new school was under construction almost immediately to house the 253 grade school students and 72 high school students in the new district called Jackson Township-Farmersville.

W.H. Vandervere had been the superintendent of Farmersville schools. He became principal of the new school due to his own idea to save money by using an assistant County Superintendent.

A document celebrating Vandervere is part of the time capsule. The authorship is unclear, but it is possible Vandervere wrote this himself, or perhaps a close ally. It appears to address the early years of the original Farmersville school and financial troubles the district faced. “He it was who took all the blame, for all the transpiring mistakes, and received no credit for the good.”

He is also lauded for his work to bring the two schools together. “Alone and unaided he fought on, battling for what he knew was right, trying to unite the unfriendly factions of township and town.”

Time Capsule Memories

The time capsule included information and photos from daily life in Farmersville, including histories of local churches and businesses.

Information and photos from Slifers Church (both Lutheran and Reformed congregations at the time), St. Andrews Lutheran Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Brethren Church (now Farmersville United Methodist) are included.

Businesses included Citizens Bank, Holzmuller Ford Tractors and the local telephone company.

The time capsule also included a 38-star American flag, which dates it back to 1877-1890.

Dr. C. M. Holzmuller, pictured front left below helped organize the time capsule and provided this photo of his employees at Holzmuller Ford Tractors.

The Germantown Public Library is partnering with the Farmersville Historical Society to display items from the time capsule, starting this week. The Library will be hosting a talk about the time capsule with Historical Society president Daryl Weller on December 2.

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