Hoyleton Time Capsule Reveals Treasure Trove of History

Old newspaper articles, newsletters — some in German, a letter from the past describing an effort that would become a successful CHHSM ministry. These were among the treasures discovered during the opening of a 109-year-old time capsule Oct. 3 at Hoyleton Youth and Family Services in Fairview Heights, Ill.

Hoyleton donors, board members, staff and United Church of Christ clergy gathered both in person and via Facebook with excitement and anticipation as the time capsule, dated 1915, was opened. 

The time capsule was discovered by a member of a construction crew from Impact Strategies as they evaluated possibly using materials from the century-old children’s home in the design of Holyeton’s new administration building. Hoyleton Youth and Family Services broke ground on a new residential campus last July and construction now is in the final stages of completion. 

In 1895, Hoyleton — known then as the Evangelical Orphanage — was established to provide compassionate care to children without parents. On the morning of June 15, 1915, a chimney fire destroyed the original orphanage. Thankfully, everyone escaped without injury. Later that year, the Board of Directors vowed that a new orphanage would be built on the same charred grounds. The new building — a $50,000 project back then — which was constructed using “kiln-run” bricks to ensure there was never another fire. 

It was during the construction of this building that staff from the orphanage made the decision to create the time capsule filled with the history discovered by the current Hoyleton family. 

“It has always been a goal of Hoyleton to intentionally bring pieces of our history along with us as we move into the future,” said Chris Cox, president and CEO. “For this reason, it was decided that Edie Grote, our longest tenured Hoyleton employee with 41.5 years of service to our mission, would do the honors of extracting the contents from the capsule. Prior to taking the contents out of the capsule, Jack Bittle, our longest tenured staff member in the Maintenance Department, accepted the honor and challenge of opening the brass box that had remained intact for 109 years.”

Everyone enjoyed seeing what was inside:

• A variety of newsletters from different publishers, most in German. A couple of the newsletters were from Eden Publishing out of St. Louis. 
• Newspapers from October 1915 called Christian Friends and the Hoyleton Commoner. 
• A multi-page letter that referred to a reverend who wanted to provide a place where homeless youth could go to grow in a Christian environment. 

“I can’t wait for us to have more time to go through this letter,” said Grote. “I hope we will discover even more about our history.” 

Hoyleton’s rich history began in 1893 when a New England Congregationalist community called Yankee Town, since renamed Hoyleton, after prominent businessman Henry Hoyle, prepared to leave the area and join other Congregationalists in settlements farther west. In preparation for their relocation, the group sold the bulk of their farms and businesses to German immigrants who had been arriving in Yankee Town years earlier. The group had one building left to sell, a seminary that was described as one of the largest buildings in town. 

The New England Congregationalists remembered that those who had funded the construction of the seminary years earlier had asked that the building always be used for educational instruction. Honoring that request, the Congregationalists gave the building to trustees representing the Zion Evangelical Church, the local congregation of a denomination known then as the Evangelical Synod of North America. 

The Zion leaders accepted the building and the responsibility of staying true to the funders request of providing education in the space. However, they recognized there was no longer a need for a seminary in that location as there were already several in the area. What they observed was needed, especially in the aftermath of a deadly epidemic, was an orphanage. After careful consideration as to whether converting the seminary into an orphanage honored the Congregationalists educational use stipulation it was agreed that as long as Christian education remained a daily regimen with the children, it was acceptable, and Evangelical Orphans Home was born. 

“As we prepare for a ribbon cutting ceremony for our new residential campus built 130 years later, we find ourselves looking to the future while still cherishing the past,” said Cox. “We hope to share more of our history in the coming months as we discover more stories and pictures from our archives and translate old German articles. We also plan to fill a new time capsule for future generations to discover.”