The United States Capitol Historical Society joined Members of Congress and Washington, DC children to witness the sealing of the 111th Congress Time Capsule containing reflections on the 16th President from Members of Congress, teachers and students from all over the country. The ceremony took place on July 23d in the Members Room of the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.

The 111th Congress Time Capsule will be preserved in the Library until 2059, the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.

At the event, the Society, a non-profit organization chartered by Congress to educate the public on the heritage of the Capitol and Congress, welcomed Congressmen Zach Wamp, Robert Aderholt, Gregory Meeks and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz along with Tom Fazzini, Press Secretary of Senator Ben Nelson, Henry Parker representing Congresswoman Betty McCollum. and others to celebrate the Lincoln legacy in the 21st Century. Their written reflections on the 16th President were placed in the 111th Congress Time Capsule. 

Others who honored the legacy of Lincoln at the ceremony included: Jennifer Rosenfeld, Deputy Executive Director of Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; Wendy Swanson, Lincoln Society of DC Member; Bob Willard, V.P. of Abraham Lincoln Association; Millicent D. Williams President & CEO of DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation; and Joe Grano, Esq., President of the Rhodes Tavern-District of Columbia Heritage Society.

Also in attendance were Scout Troops 1174 and 2023 and Cub Scout Pack 343 from the National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts of America. The DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation accompanied youths from the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington and several young ladies attended the event with the DC Youth Advisory Council Members. The youngest and liveliest group were from the Summer Enrichment Program. Several Members of Congress's children are enrolled in this program.

Ronald Sarasin, President of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, did the honor of sealing the capsule and Jim Hutson, Chief of Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, transported the historic time capsule into the vaults of the Library of Congress.

Photographs by Leslie A. Zukor, Charter Member of USCHS, and Lauren Borchard, USCHS Associate Historian.

For additional pictures, click here