A time capsule found in the ashes of the Almeda Fire was opened last Friday.

A time capsule salvaged from the ashes of the Almeda Fire in 2020 was cut open Friday morning in the media gallery of the Southern Oregon Education Service District in Medford.

The capsule had been embedded in a concrete block retrieved from the rubble of the one-time Jackson County Farm Home near Talent.

SOESD took over the property in the late 1970s.

“When they were doing the debris removal from the fire, they said it looked like there might be something in there,” said Dan Weaver, chief financial officer and deputy clerk at SOESD. “We took it to our warehouse to protect it from the weather, but it was in the middle of COVID, so we kind of stored it while we figured out what to do.”

The capsule had

been sealed as part of a

1949-50 rebuild of the

farm house, built to take

care of the community’s indigent.

About 50 to 60 people were on hand Friday, including SOESD employees and local historians excited to see what was in the 18-inch-long copper box.

Oregon Public Broadcasting filmed the event for inclusion in its upcoming

“Oregon Experience” series on poor farms around the state.

Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Jan Wright revealed that the capsule included three area newspapers, a copy of the ballot on which the county measure to rebuild the farm was posed to voters, an edition of the Oregon Blue Book and a letter from then-county commissioner R.R. Lytle.

Built around 1907 as one of several poor farms in the region, the building and 56 acres of land were funded by the community to provide for the elderly, disabled and other disadvantaged residents. Poor farms were common in the U.S. for a century beginning in the mid-1880s — not unlike group homes of today — and into the 1950s.

Residents, termed “inmates,” helped with farming and caring for the property, which Wright said was designed to provide for inmates’ “social, emotional, nutritional needs.”

The letter in the capsule by Lytle applauded the community support of the farm home. The late commissioner’s handwritten note stated that he was “happy and proud to have had the Jackson County farm home built during my term of office and to have taken an active part in its construction.”

Lytle said replacement of the 1907 wood structure was “outstanding and truly a credit to Jackson County. … I’m very much impressed with the results achieved and the cooperation shown by all, so it is with deep and sincere gratification that I see the completion of the Jackson County Farm Home.”

One of the guests on hand Friday was Lytle’s grandson, Tim Lytle, who remembered tagging along to the farm home as a small boy. Tim Lytle, a four-decade member of the Medford Police Department, said his grandmother Margaret would bake items and that his grandfather would deliver the baked goods, along with other supplies, to the farm.

“I would spend time with my grandparents when my parents were working. … I remember my grampa would use his old Chevy long bed pickup and we would take boxes over to the farm,” Lytle said. “I would just jump out and run amuck. … I remember I’d peek inside all the rooms. When I heard about the time capsule, I thought it’d be fun to come see what was inside.”

In addition to Commissioner Lytle’s letter, were newspapers from three towns.

The Medford Mail Tribune, dated March 12, 1950, boasted a headline at the top, “Russians Start Huge Parliament Election.”

A March 13, 1950, copy of the Ashland Daily Tidings featured a headline that said, “Truman Submits Plan for Action on Hoover Report.”

The Central Point American, dated Sept. 22, 1949, had a story titled, “Speed Work on New Building at County Farm.” The article read, “Work on the new main building at the County Farm Home is progressing rapidly and it is predicted that the structure will be ready for occupancy by the 15th of December, according to a statement this week by County Judge J.B. Coleman.”

The story detailed the cement exterior, a large basement, septic tank and 10,000-gallon fuel oil tank installed to provide oil storage to heat the various buildings. Wright pointed out Friday that the new structure was thought to be more fireproof than the original wood structure and that its builders likely could not have imagined the massive Almeda Fire in 2020, which destroyed thousands of homes.

The fire leveled the entire Phoenix-Talent campus of the SOESD located between the Red Barn auction house and the county animal shelter. Weaver said a newly planned campus would feature some information on the history of the farm home, as well as the items from the time capsule.

Weaver was excited to have local history gurus on board for the time capsule opening.

“We weren’t sure what (from the capsule) had survived the fire, so this was awesome. Our vision is to have a display case with all of it at our new campus.”

Wright said she was thrilled the time capsule items had survived.

“I can’t believe the items all survived the fire. There was even a big hole in the box that was created by the fire,” she said.

“The time capsule represents a desire to be credited with taking part in a countywide effort to shelter and feed the poor, the aged and the indigent,” she said. “In those days, the 1950s, it was a badge of honor to take care of those who couldn’t help themselves.”