For the next few weeks workers will search for the famed 1887 timecapsule that was believed to be under the monument. The monument has been long considered a symbol for racial injustice.
Devon Henry, the contractor responsible for removing the statue’s pedestal and its pedestal, stated that “We know what we need to look out for.” It will be a highly decorative piece of granite and will not look like the one that’s there.
Henry spoke on the day following one of the most anti-climactic moments within historic preservation. State conservators spent five hour gingerly prying open an corroded lead container that many believed was the 1887 time capsule.
They didn’t find what they expected, including the Confederacy picture and a photograph of Abraham Lincoln. Conservators instead pulled out some books that had become waterlogged, a silver penny, and an envelope containing papers.
Some Thursdays believed that the lead box belonged to a person or group who oversaw the construction of the monument.
Dale Brumfield is a local historian who focuses in the Richmond area. It was more of a self-commemoration than a time capsule. Who was going to stop them?
The box contained a novel by Collinson Pierrepont Ed Edwards Burgwyn, a Richmond civil engineer who was involved in the design of Monument Avenue.
The envelope featured an image of a man and the words “James Netherwood masterstone mason” were written on the back. Netherwood was responsible for the construction of the pedestal upon which Lee’s large equestrian statue stood.
Brumfield stated that Netherwood had an artist create a granite statue of him while he was alive. “Burgwyn likely had an ego approximately the same size.”
Julie Langan, director of the Department of Historic Resources in the state, said that the box could have been the result of someone involved in the monument’s creation, but she stressed that this was not yet proven.
She said that you might find “craftsmen carving their initials in historic buildings to leave a lasting impression of their involvement.” “And this is a gesture of a similar nature to mine.”
Langan stated that the Wednesday box was more interesting than it was exciting.
She said, “What I found most exciting was the excitement that the public had about this story.” It shows me that history can be enjoyed by the public.
In 1890, the Confederacy’s former capital, the Lee statue was built. The statue was removed in September, more than a full year after it was erected by Gov. It was ordered by Ralph Northam in response to protests that broke out following the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police.
It was one of five Confederate monuments that lined Monument Avenue. The only one that belonged the state was the statue. In 2020, the four city-owned statues were removed. However, the removal of the Lee statue was impeded by two lawsuits. The Supreme Court of Virginia in September allowed it to be taken down.
Henry, the contractor responsible for removing the statue, stated that all decorative granite had been removed from the location. Monday will see the return of work on the rubble pile and the search for 1887’s time capsule.
If everything goes according to plan, they will find a larger box. It will be made from copper, not lead. There will be 60 items, including a photograph of President Lincoln in his coffin.
Henry stated that Henry would continue to do the same thing in a safe, professional, and meticulous manner. “And we’ll be seeing what happens in the next few weeks.”