250 years of progress and history in America frozen in time – a time capsule to commemorate America’s 250th birthday will soon go into the ground in Philadelphia, Pa., bringing a bit of Mississippi with it.
On July 4, a time capsule containing items from all 50 states, five territories, and Washington, D.C., will be buried in Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park. It will be dug up 250 years from now in hopes of “telling the story” of America to future generations.
Large states like California notably left behind a plethora of state-specific items, such as a letter from Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, a fusion superconductor, a “California Innovation $1 Coin” celebrating Steve Jobs and Pixar, “My California” poem by Lee Herrick, a photo of California from space, a quantum computing chip, and an AI-generated prediction of what California will be like in 2276.
Others, like Alabama, were more modest, simply including only poems or a singular letter.
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves is particularly excited about the prospect of the America250 time capsule including four important parts of the state’s contributions to America’s history.
Mississippi will see you in 2276!https://t.co/poGL08Rtsn
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) June 16, 2026
2276 is the year to circle, but, thankfully, people don’t have to wonder what exactly it is that Mississippi and the other states left to be remembered by.
Inside Mississippi’s portion of the nearly half-ton time capsule is a letter from Reeves addressed to the people of the year 2276 and four brass coins honoring the Magnolia State’s contributions to literature, science, music, and food.
The coins include depictions of Mississippi Gulf Coast seafood, a space rocket honoring the engine-testing at Stennis Space Center, the Crossroads in Clarksdale where blues icon Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul for the ability to play, and three books with the names of Richard Wright, William Faulkner, and Eudora Welty.
