Unexpected Find Discovered During Dresden Church Demolition

Photos courtesy of Discovery Park of America

On February 2, 2022, the Discovery Park of America artifact experts opened a cornerstone box discovered during the demolition of the historic Dresden First United Methodist Church. The building was damaged beyond repair in December 2021, during one of the worst outbreaks of tornadoes ever recorded in the United States.

The cornerstone box was found bricked inside a part of the church that was dedicated in 1923 and was previously unknown to many of today’s church members. Once discovered, demolition halted as those on hand began work to carefully extract the box from the cornerstone of the building. The box has since been stored properly at Discovery Park.

Over the past few weeks, the Discovery Park team has developed a plan to open and conserve the remains in the box. The majority of the items were well preserved, with the most unexpected item being an ear of corn. A letter wrapped around the ear noted it was of the Little Willice variety and was placed in the box by E. E. Ellis, the Weakley County agriculture agent. Ellis wrote, “May God’s richest blessings be with each farmer and those that depend on farmers as long as good old Weakley County continues to be populated with people.”

For a look at the other items inside, visit the Discovery Park of America blog.