World’s Largest Time Capsule

The earth beneath Seward might be home to the most eccentric collection of 1970s paraphernalia on Earth. We say “might” because no one really knows; the collection was buried 50 years ago as one of the most ambitious time capsule projects in modern history, and no one has seen it since.

The capsule was the brainchild of Seward town eccentric Keith Davisson. In 1975, he decided to sink a 45-ton vault into the front yard of his business and filled it with more than 5,000 items, including a pair of bikini bottoms, a floral men’s leisure suit, a motorcycle, and a brand-new Chevy Vega. Guinness later dubbed the DIY bunker the largest time capsule in the world, a fact Davisson was enormously proud of. In fact, when Oglethorpe University protested that they had the largest time capsule, Davisson doubled down: he built an enormous pyramid atop his vault, added another car to it, sealed it up, and called it a day. (Guinness responded to the dispute by throwing up its hands and removing the “largest time capsule” category from its books entirely, but we all know who the real winner is here.) 

Keith Davisson passed away in 1999, but his family continued to maintain both the time capsule and the business (a chicken hatchery-turned-general store that has since pivoted into the used furniture resale market). Throughout, the property has retained its original name: House of Davisson. For years, the World’s Largest Time Capsule was a popular roadside attraction and a source of local pride. But in 2024, Davisson’s family decided to prepare for the big 2025 reveal by opening up the upper portion of the time capsule a year early.

On July 4, 2024, a crew set to work on the layers of concrete and insulation that housed the upper chamber. It was no easy task; cracking the thing open took six hours and a large saw. And while some of the contents had been damaged by years of moisture and temperature swings, much of the memorabilia remained perfectly intact. Family members discovered murals that were painted in 1983, as well as dozens of hand-written letters, movie posters, and a battered Toyota Corolla. But the real treasures are said to lie in the vault beneath. That’s currently scheduled to be opened exactly 50 years after its burial—on July 4, 2025.