In a story that screams blockbuster movie, 100-year old Masonic records that were placed under the Tennessee State Capitol will be dug up in this decade.
Reddit user SilentWalrus92 shared an old newspaper clipping that outlines a time capsule that was placed underground by the Nashville Freemasons in 1927 to celebrate 100 years of the chapter's existence.
The time capsule will be dug up in July of 2027. But before you go all Da Vinci Code, it doesn't seem like there will be any groundbreaking discoveries from the unearthing.
According to the paper:
Nashville Council No. 1 R. & S.M. will have rounded out one hundred years of existence on July 27. It was resolved to deposit in a copper box a history of the council for the first hundred years, which will contain a photograph of every member of the council. Besides various momentoes of the craft there will be placed in the box a small quantity of seed, wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, and tobacco, sealed airtight, with a request that when the box is opened the seeds be planted. The box is to be placed in a concrete crypt, three feet square and two and one-half feet below the surface of the earth in the grounds of the Tennessee state capitol. Immediately after the box has been deposited the extra space will be filled with coal tar and hermetically sealed with concrete. The spot will be marked with a triangular shaft of white concrete, bearing a copper plate. On July 27, 2027, the crypt will be opened by Nashville Council No. 1, if it shall then be in existence; if not, then by the Grand council of Tennessee.
In case you aren't familiar with the Capitol grounds, I'll answer your next question. YES, the triangular shaft of white concrete is still there. In fact, several pictures of it exist with a simple Google search. The copper plate reads "The articles beneath this triangle were deposited by Nashville Council No 1 Royal and Select Masters on July 27, 1927 under authority of a joint resolution adopted by both houses of the sixty fifth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee. Here to remain one hundred years."
Nashville Council No. 1 does, indeed, still exist, and in fact does a crypt ceremony at the location of the time capsule every year on July 27th.
So, what should we expect in July 2027?
A cool piece of Nashville history, but probably not much else. With the exception of the "various momentoes of the craft", it all seems pretty cut and dry...pictures of previous Masonic members and seeds (which is odd, but not abnormal for the time period).
Will there be other secrets that are revealed? Deep-seeded mysteries unveiled by Tom Hanks deciphering a bunch of riddles?
Probably not. I mean, that'd be cool. But unlikely. Either way July 27, 2027 should be a cool day to take a peek into the city's history from an unusual perspective.