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Loudon County residents drop off items for time capsule that will stay closed for 50 years

Many people may want to forget 2020, but some Loudon County residents may look back on it 50 years from Saturday.

LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — Many people can't wait to put the year behind them, never to think back to what 2020 was like. However, some Loudon County residents will remember it for 50 more years.

People dropped off things they wanted to place in a time capsule on Saturday at the Courthouse Annex. It was a drive-by event instead of a traditional event, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials invited people to drop off pictures, letters, small mementos and other personal items that friends and family would want to see again in 2070. That year will be the county's 200th anniversary, officials said. 

After everything was placed in the capsule, officials sealed it for the next 50 years. The new time capsule will likely be on display inside the reconstructed courthouse, which burned in 2019.

Before sealing the capsule, some county residents filled out questionnaires to place inside it. They included questions like "what's your favorite dance?"

In 1970, the county buried a coffin filled with memorabilia. However, water damaged its contents by the time it was opened in 2020. So, officials said they wouldn't take chances with the new time capsule.

"There are going to be three of them, three-foot boxes with glass tops so that people can view the items that are within them. Hopefully, they will be located here in our newly restored Loudon County Courthouse," Rachel Harrell, director of tourism for the county, said about the decision not to bury the 2020 capsule underground.

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