jan 1, 1876 - Century safe

Description:

New York magazine publisher Anna Deihm assembled a “Century Safe” at the U.S that was made in the 1876 centennial celebration - the 100th birthday of the USA and when the first world fair would be held in the country.

It was an iron box filled with 19th century relics, including a gold pen and inkstand, a book on temperance, a book containing the names of over 80,000 government employees, and snapshots of President Ulysses S. Grant and other politicians. Anna presented it to congress, and despite the Senate’s refusal to accept the gift, the House of Representatives obliged. The safe was ceremoniously locked in the statuary hall of the Capitol. It was moved to a nearby storage room in 1958. No one thought about it until the preparations for the 200th birthday of the country started in 1971, at which point no one remembered the location of the keys. A locksmith cracked it open, and a formal thanks was given to Mrs. Deihm after 95 years.
After being sealed in 1879 in the centennial celebrations of the USA, it was taken to the US Capitol, and rediscovered in July 1976 during the nation’s bicentennial festivities.

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