The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Centennial Time Capsule is heading to Caddo Lake State Park, its next stop on a 50-year journey to visit every state park, according to a Sept. 24 news release from the agency.
The move keeps alive a decades-long project meant to preserve a physical record of each park’s history for a single, symbolic opening generations from now.
The five-foot-tall wooden capsule, built from pecan trees harvested at Mother Neff State Park, holds one object from every state park and support program, chosen to tell that site’s story while surviving 50 years of travel across Texas, according to the release. It has now visited five parks, spending six months at each stop. It arrives at the Caddo Lake visitor’s center in Karnack on Sept. 26 and will remain on display in East Texas until spring, the release said.
“Caddo Lake State Park is proud of the deep history that is held within its quiet, moss draped landscape and hosting the traveling Texas State Park Time Capsule feels like we will witness history taking shape,” said Daniel Rios, the park’s assistant superintendent, in the release. “This special wooden legacy capsule will bring a sense of excitement and curiosity to the park, which will help to remind people that today’s moments will one day become tomorrow’s stories.”
Rios said park rangers will safeguard the capsule during its stay, adding that it is meant to be “one more enchanting secret in the mysterious swamp of Caddo Lake State Park.”
At its previous stop, Palo Duro Canyon State Park marked its 92nd year hosting visitors while the capsule was on-site, according to the release. “Through it all, the Time Capsule has been a symbol of the legacy of Texas State Parks,” said David Fischer, the canyon’s superintendent, crediting his team’s daily stewardship and customer service during the capsule’s stay.
The capsule is built from solid wood and bronze, weighs more than 300 pounds and can hold more than 100 items, the release said, and is topped with a sculpture of Texas marking every park location. TPWD is inviting visitors to view the capsule at Caddo Lake and leave their own mark on its journey toward a planned opening in 2074.