A time capsule filled with pieces of Yankton’s history and community life will be buried Thursday and remain sealed until America’s 300th anniversary.
The public is invited to attend the burial at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at the Dakota Territorial Capitol Building in Riverside Park. The ceremony will take place just before Music at the Meridian begins at 5:30 p.m.
The time capsule is scheduled to be opened July 4, 2076.
The project was organized by the Yankton SD Celebrates America’s 250 task force, chaired by Todd Larson and Luke Youmans.
According to Larson, the idea came from other time capsules already buried in Yankton parks. The task force suggested items to include, and the City of Yankton gathered and placed the items inside the capsule.
The contents are intended to show future residents what Yankton’s history and community looked like in 2026.
Several newspaper articles were included, beginning with two Yankton Press & Dakotan articles from America’s 150th anniversary in 1926. The capsule also contains information about Yankton’s 1976 bicentennial celebration and newspaper coverage of the community’s 2026 events.
Materials connected to the Dakota Territorial Capitol Building include historic photographs, construction photographs, information from the day Yankton was recognized as “Capital for a Day” and a 1989 history of the replica building written by Elizabeth Muth.
Muth’s husband, Bob, was a member of the Sertoma Club who helped lead the effort to construct the replica building.
The capsule also includes the City of Yankton’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, the 2026 Yankton Thrive Visitor’s Guide, the 2025–2026 Yankton Thrive Welcome Home relocation guide, issues of South Dakota Magazine and a 2026 issue of South Dakota Municipalities Magazine featuring Yankton’s 250th anniversary celebration.
Several items represent more recent community projects and events.
A used pink pickleball marks the completion of Yankton’s first dedicated outdoor pickleball courts at Westside Park in the fall of 2025. A “Keep Swimming” mug represents the Huether Family Aquatics Center project, and a pin commemorates the Meridian Bridge’s 100th anniversary in 2024.
The capsule also contains a tournament pin from the 2026 International Field Archery Association World Field Championships, held July 26–31 in Yankton and at Lewis and Clark Recreation Area.
Other items include a City of Yankton neck gaiter given to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s final printed summer recreation guide from 2020, a City of Yankton cemetery brochure, a parks rental brochure, items from local service clubs and pens from local businesses.
A copy of A Tour Guide to Historic Yankton, written by Yankton’s Nathan Johnson and published in 2023, was also included.
These are only some of the items included in the time capsule. A complete list of its contents is available in the References and Supporting Information section below this article.
Among the smallest items placed in the capsule are United States pennies, including pennies made before 1982, when the coins were primarily copper.
The last pennies produced for general circulation were struck at the Philadelphia Mint on Nov. 12, 2025. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, it cost approximately 3.69 cents to produce each one-cent coin. Existing pennies remain legal tender, and the U.S. Mint may still produce limited collectible pennies.
The capsule also contains note cards written by people attending Music at the Meridian. Participants were invited to write messages to their future selves.
Larson, who serves as Yankton’s director of Parks, Recreation and City Events, will lead Thursday’s program. He will say a few words before the vault is lowered into the ground and covered.
City Parks Department employees will install a concrete slab and granite marker over the vault Friday morning.
The marker reads, “Time Capsule — Yankton Celebrates America’s 250 Years — Open July 4, 2076.”
Members of the Yankton City Commission have been invited to attend. No official City Commission action will take place if enough commissioners attend to constitute a quorum.
The burial ceremony is open to the public.
References and Supporting Documents
Documents
Yankton 2026 Time Capsule — Complete Contents List
Provided by Todd Larson, director of Yankton Parks, Recreation and City Events.
Photograph of the Granite Time-Capsule Marker
Provided by Todd Larson.
Reference Links
United States Mint — Final Production of the Circulating One-Cent Coin
U.S. Department of the Treasury — Penny Production Cessation FAQs