New 100-year time capsule interred at Kootenai County courthouse

COEUR d'ALENE — After retrieving a 100-year time capsule from inside the outer wall of the old Kootenai County courthouse this summer, local historical preservationists have buried a new time capsule to be opened a century from now.

The Kootenai County Historic Preservation Commission and the Coeur d'Alene Historic Preservation Commission announced the internment this week, following a quiet Sept. 29 ceremony on the courthouse grounds. 

Members of both commissions served on a joint committee that presented a July 3 celebration marking three special occasions: America's 250th birthday, 136 years since Idaho's statehood, and the 100th anniversary of the old courthouse. 

The team delayed the interment of the new time capsule because it needed to secure additional containment vessels for different items, vet the packaging and collect a few more items to fill the container. 

"In a bit of coincidental historical symmetry, local attorney Steve McCrea happened by at the exact moment the last shovelfuls of soil were being placed," a news release said. 

McCrea's grandfather chaired the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners in 1926, when the courthouse was dedicated and the time capsule of that era was sealed inside a cornerstone. 

"The significance of this not being lost on the group in attendance, Steve was invited to place a shovelful or two as part of the effort," a news release said. 

A total of 96 items were placed inside the new time capsule for the future, including: 

• Letters from the Kootenai County commissioners and Coeur d’Alene mayor and city councilors  

• Letters from the presidents of North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College and from the director of the University of Idaho – Coeur d’Alene Center 

• Copies of newspapers  

• A poem titled “Revival,” written for the occasion by Coeur d’Alene Poet Laureate Jennifer Passaro  

• A proclamation and signed photograph from the Idaho Supreme Court  

• Items donated by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Freemasons, the Museum of North Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission, North Idaho College and Lewis and Clark State College  

• Items donated by museums and historic societies in Harrison, Spirit Lake and Hayden Lake  

• A hand-beaded medallion representing the Coeur d’Alene Tribe  

• Varsity letters from Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls high schools 

• A 2026 annual from Lake City High School 

• Mascot and logo tokens from Lakeland and Timberlake high schools 

The intent is for future Kootenai County residents to open the time capsule in July 2126.